Thoughts fbt\ the People 



Reuben Greene M.D. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap. Copyright No. 

Shelf. Q & 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THOUGHTS 
FOR THE PEOPLE 



ILLUSTRATING MAN'S REAL RELATION, 

PHYSICALLY, 

POLITICALLY, SOCIALLY, AND RELIGIOUSLY, 

TO THE UNIVERSE OF GOD 



PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS UPON THE ORIGIN AND PREVENTION 

OF SICKNESS, SUFFERING, AND PREMATURE DEATH; THE 

RESULT OF FIFTY-SIX YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL 

EXPERIENCE AND OBSERVATION 



/ BY 
REUBEN GREENE M.D. 



JUL 17 IBM, 



BOSTON 
LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS 

10 MILK STREET 
1896 






Copyright, 1896, 

BY 

Reuben Greene M.D. 
All Eights Reserved. 

/I- 32.5-/3 



C. J. PETEES & SON, TYPOGRAPHERS, BOSTON. 
J. J. ARAKELYAN, PEINTEB. 



\r 



INTRODUCTION. 



Beyond the duties immediately connected with 
the medical profession, I have not been able to 
give my time largely to literary pursuits. But 
now, in the peaceful twilight of my eightieth year, 
in the retirement of my quiet home, I have penned 
these thoughts, the result of long experience upon 
the vital questions now agitating the public mind. 
I hope the conclusions herein expressed will tend 
to allay the social, religious, and political discon- 
tent from which the world is suffering to-day. 

In my youth I began to observe the demoraliz- 
ing effects of evil thoughts and unholy desires 
upon the character and lives of the people. 

In the early years of my medical practice I gave 
particular attention to the effect of poisonous 
drugs, narcotic and alcoholic stimulants, upon the 
human system; and my deliberate judgment con- 
demned their use. I therefore ruled them out of 
my Materia Medica, and out of my life ; and I 
have never had occasion to question the wisdom 
of that decision. 

3 



4 INTRODUCTION. 

Fifty-six years of professional experience and 
observation have passed. Being a practising phy- 
sician enabled me not only to study disease in 
its various forms, but the better to observe and 
study human nature, and to see the inner life of 
the people, which, to a great extent, is hidden from 
the world. 

The summing up of these varied experiences 
has convinced me that poverty, suffering, sickness, 
and premature death are largely the result of im- 
pure thoughts and unholy desires, and the dissipa- 
tion, vice, immorality, and crime which follow in 
their trend. 

Notwithstanding all this suffering, immorality, 
and crime, we have the best authority for believ- 
ing that we reap only what we sow ; and I feel 
sure that no man can be secure from the common 
ills of life, and the influence of evil habits and 
evil deeds, while his mind is controlled by evil 
thoughts. It is this medley of good and bad 
thoughts in our minds that makes our lives so ir- 
regular and unreliable. Purifying the fountain 
from evil thoughts is the true basis of reform ; and 
only when we free our minds from evil thoughts 
shall we be able to free our lives from the bondage 
of evil habits. 

We did not make the world, and we cannot 
manage it. We have been given life, and we can- 



INTRODUCTION. 

not avoid its responsibilities. We are impelled to 
make a continuous journey ever onward ; and as 
we shall never pass this way again, let us do all 
the good we can to those about us. We are trav- 
elling together to join the great majority; and it is 
important that we should be prepared, not only 
for the pilgrimage, but for our reception in that 
land beyond the river. 

If, in our journey through this world, we wished 
to explore a country that was foreign to us, we 
should not only study the geography of the 
country, the language and the customs of the in- 
habitants, but we should also convert our money 
into the currency of the land through which we 
desired to pass. 

Gold has its value here, but it will not avail 
as currency in the New Jerusalem. We should 
therefore, as we travel, like all wise travellers, by 
good works convert our treasures into character 
and love, which are born of the heart, and will 
be acceptable on earth or in heaven. 

We are rich and worthy according to what Ave 
are, and not according to what we have. The 
gold a man possesses is the measure of his money, 
not of himself. Without character and love in 
the heart, and only money to recommend us, we 
really have no capital acceptable in that unknown 
land. 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

Let us accept the events of life in God's ap- 
pointed way, cultivate brotherly love, and use the 
good things of this world as part of God's uni- 
verse ; and having done our best, we shall in 
due time receive our reward. 

"And so beside the silent sea 
I wait the muffled oar," 

trusting that the thoughts expressed on the follow- 
ing pages will receive the candid consideration 
of the public, and help to solve the various prob- 
lems of life and human happiness, and prevent 
the misery and degradation which now hold in 
bondage the great mass of our people. 

REUBEN GREENE, M.D. 
34 Temple Place, 

Boston, Mass. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Thoughts on Government and Social Problems. 9 

Thoughts on Religious Problems 58 

Thought in Education 109 

Thoughts on Brain Work 131 

Thoughts are Realities 144 

Thoughts on Intemperance 153 

Narcotic Stimulants — Tobacco — Opium ... 181 

The Problem of Health 195 

Sanitary Science 205 

Value of Sunlight 224 

Importance of Sleep 229 

Use of the Nostrils 241 

Stammering 253 

Use of the Beard 255 

Occupation — Exercise 259 

Posture 265 

Benefit of Laughing — Crying 268 

Music .270 

1 



THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 



THOUGHTS ON GOVERNMENT AND 
SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 



The necessity for government is constitutional 
with us all. Our very life development demands 
it. Government is not merely to restrain the 
wicked, but so to direct the various forces of 
society as to enable them to work together for 
the common good. Government is therefore an 
essential condition of human life. 

The authority for human government is derived 
from the source of all power, and with it is con- 
nected great responsibility to both subjects and 
administrators. A perfect ethical standard can- 
not be expected in human laws ; but no govern- 
ment or organization can ever be a permanent 
success that does not acknowledge the Supreme 
Being, and receive its inspiration from the realm 
of spirit. We should therefore all render proper 
respect to authority. 



10 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

I do not say that human governments are per- 
fect, or that they should not be changed or im- 
proved. As the masses become better educated, 
civilization will advance, and the people will de- 
mand not only better laws, but that they shall be 
properly executed by men of character and trust- 
worthiness. In the properly constituted govern- 
ment unreserved obedience is essential, or its noble 
ends can never be fully consummated. If a law is 
in itself unjust, its enforcement will prove it so, 
and the proper authorities will repeal it. 

It is very unwise, if not criminal, under a gov- 
ernment by the people and for the people, like that 
of the United States, for individuals or organiza- 
tions to ignore their obligations to society, and set 
up for themselves what they term standards of 
right against law and order. People who thus 
take the law into their own hands take a fearful 
responsibility, and do not seem to realize the fact 
that their so-called individual liberty becomes 
tyranny to other individuals and to the commu- 
nity in which they live, and also a direct violation 
of inherent and governmental rights. 

This tyranny of liberty, as it may be called, has 
become one of the greatest disturbing elements of 
our time. Personal independence, without the 
sense of obligation for the rights of others and to 
society, leads to a careless disregard of the rights 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 11 

of people and often to acts of violence. This is 
what personal liberty means when it runs into 
license. Men who do not comprehend their spir- 
itual nature, who think and act only upon the 
material plane, would not be likely to know how 
to rightfully use their freedom; hence it is not 
strange that men of limited education, undevel- 
oped in spirit, and without external restraint, 
should mistake license for liberty. 

A little candid consideration must satisfy any 
one that individual liberty in physical relationship 
is impossible in any community. Each individual 
having a right to an opinion of his own, and each 
differing from others upon almost every subject, 
the freedom of each would conflict with the free- 
dom of others, and there would be constant con- 
tention of opinion. To develop anything like a 
Christian civilization there must necessarily be 
concessions from each and every individual, a 
mutual yielding of personal rights for the good of 
the whole, — a sort of government, implied if not 
written, defining the rights of each. 

Law is not the result of arbitrary desire to rule, 
but grows out of the needs and necessities of 
mankind ; and from the necessity comes what is 
termed common law. This common law is neces- 
sary to protect the individual and society; and 
being made by mutual consent, and for the good of 



12 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

humanity, it should be obeyed by all. In the pro- 
tection of society and individuals, there may be 
conflict. The public good may require the taking 
of private property for public use, but provisions 
have been made by which the individual is pro- 
tected from injustice. The Constitution gives 
equal rights, and the law offers equal protection, 
to all. 

Those in authority must not be expected to 
listen to the clamor of those whose feelings of self- 
independence and self-importance lead them to 
acts of violence against law and order. In the 
administration of the laws they must be governed 
by the Constitution, and the higher and eternal 
principles, which are the voice of God. The pri- 
mary element of all true self-government is a 
proper consideration of the rights of others. A 
person who is not willing to yield enough of what 
he calls his personal rights to submit to the proper 
regulations of society has not received the first 
element of a true education, and should, instead of 
quarrelling with the order of this world, create 
for himself, if possible, another world, which he 
may call his own, and upon which he can, in the 
solitude of his own selfish nature, enjoy his per- 
sonal rights and liberty without interfering with 
the rights and liberty of others. 

Every person has an individuality, a feeling of 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 13 

independence, . of self-respect, which belongs to 
every man, and should not be surrendered, but 
should be used so as not to impose upon the rights 
of others. Man's personality is so strong and so 
diversified that it renders equality of condition 
impossible upon any material basis. There may be 
something of a social organization among people 
on a higher plane of life, but even there it would 
obliterate all sense of individual manhood; and I 
am not sure that socialism would be practical or 
even desirable in heaven, where "one star differ- 
eth from another star in glory." 

The man who lives upon his own selfish 
thoughts, regardless of the rights of others, doing 
nothing for his fellows, cannot be a happy man. 
He may in a material sense be successful and 
accumulate wealth, but he will find that he has 
been building himself into conditions which will 
afford him no real satisfaction; while the man 
who obeys the regulations of society, and by gene- 
rous acts makes himself useful and necessary to 
the well-being and happiness of others, builds him- 
self into the hearts of the people, and his name 
will not be forgotten. 

It is claimed by some of our labor organizations 
that all men are equal. It is true that all men are 
equal in their rights before the law ; but it is very 
evident that they are not all born equal, and are 



14 THOUGHTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 

not equal in condition more than in stature. In 
Christ's parable talents were not given to men in 
equal amounts, but they Avere given according to 
their several abilities ; and so they are to-day. 
Some men have many talents, and can accomplish 
much more than others ; and I see no reason 
why men should not receive to-day, as in Christ's 
time, according to their several abilities. 

The physical and intellectual faculties which 
God has given us are widely different; but these 
varied talents, which make for us different condi- 
tions in life, all have their advantages, and they 
are all necessary parts of the great organism of 
humanity. We have all received according to 
our capacity, and each individual should see that 
he is the " right man in the right place." We 
should all realize the fact that each man was 
" created " to fill a place in nature and in society 
which no other man can fill; that each one is 
fitted to walk in a certain path that he may not 
interfere with others ; also that each one should 
maintain his own individuality and self-respect, 
and keep in his own place, and perforin his own 
duty, that the harmony of the universe may not 
be disturbed. 

The planets all have equal rights, and move in 
concord ; but they are not equal in size nor in con- 
dition. So with man: we are all equal in our 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 15 

rights, while we are not all in the same condition; 
but if we all moved in our proper sphere, there 
would be harmony and not discord. 

"What if the foot, ordained the dust to tread, 
Or hand, to toil, aspired to be the head ? 
What if the head, the eye, or ear repined 
To serve mere engines to the ruling mind ? 
Just as absurd for any part to claim 
To be another, in this general frame ; 
Just as absurd to mourn the tasks or pains 
The great directing mind of all ordains." 

All that is required of any man is that he should 
be faithful in the service demanded by the condi- 
tion in which he is placed. 

It is a popular fallacy that the poor man is poor 
because of lack of equality of opportunity with 
the rich man. True success in life is assured, not 
by wild speculation, but by intelligent thought and 
well-directed effort to overcome unfavorable condi- 
tions, and in filling faithfully the place for which 
nature and circumstances have designed us. 

I know it is often remarked, as a slur upon the 
civilization of our time, that the rich are growing 
richer and the poor poorer. How it may be with 
the poor immigrants who are constantly coming 
to our shore, I am not prepared to say. But with 
regard to our own people, I think it is true that 
all classes are becoming richer. There never was 



16 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

a time in the history of the world when the poor 
and the middle classes have made snch rapid pro- 
gress as in the last fifty years. Contrast their 
present condition with that of twenty-five years 
ago, and we find all classes are better fed, better 
clothed, better honsed, better educated, and in 
every way more prosperous. Our children are 
very much better educated, and in every way our 
condition is in advance of the past generation. I 
think the per cent of advancement, both in wealth 
and general prosperity, has been as great, if not 
greater, with the laborers than any other class of 
our citizens. 

The order of the world requires different con- 
ditions, and requires men to fill its varied situa- 
tions. Society would not be prosperous were it 
composed entirely of capitalists, clergymen, law- 
yers, or mechanics. The laborer, though occupy- 
ing a necessary and honorable position in society, 
if faithful to his trust, may be as happy as the 
prince. Every one should see that he is in the 
place for which God and nature have fitted him ; 
and if he is still dissatisfied, I would respectfully 
refer him to Alexander Pope: — 

"Ask of Mother Earth why oaks are made 
Taller or stronger than the weeds they shade ; 
Or ask of yonder argent field above, 
Why Jove's satellites are less than Jove." 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 17 

We must always bear in mind the fact that 
thought is food for the mind and spirit, as really 
as bread is food for the body. If the spirit 
starves for lack of good thoughts, the body suffers. 
It remains with ourselves to decide whether the 
powers of mind remain latent, or are used to ele- 
vate our manhood. If we depend upon others, 
and allow ourselves to be carried, we shall not 
only lose our individual power, but lose our place 
in society and in the world. If we do not use 
our brains, as well as our muscles, we shall find 
ourselves, by our own consent, simply a part of 
the general business machinery of the world. 

Every thought is a real force, made visible in 
the work accomplished. A realizing sense of per- 
sonal responsibility alone can bring out our occult 
and fullest power, and enable us to do our best 
work. It matters not what may be our business 
or our station in life, we shall always find that 
the more good thought we put into our work, the 
easier and the better will the work be done. We 
may not have the same opportunity as a Washing- 
ton or a Lincoln, for we are not living under the 
same conditions ; and yet we all have equal rights, 
and should feel our obligation and responsibility 
in filling the place we are called upon to occupy, 
and if our duty is faithfully performed, we shall 
secure our reward, " Well done, good and faithful 
servant." 



18 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

There may be a seeming inequality among us ; 
but it is because we do not comprehend God's 
plans, and do not follow the Golden Rule which 
is God-given. Christ did not condemn rich men 
because they were rich, but because they did not 
consecrate themselves and their riches to the 
good of their fellow-men. The Christ doctrine 
or spirit requires that every man, rich or poor, 
should have a care for his brother; and whether 
his talents are few or many, they should be used 
for the good of humanity. In all our acts we 
should feel that whatever becomes our duty we 
will perform faithfully, not only for the thing 
itself, but for the sum of human life and human 
happiness. 

" Honor and shame from no condition rise. 
Act well your part, there all the honor lies." 

I believe the great majority of people of all 
conditions of life are honest and true, and would 
like to live in peace and harmony, but are forced 
to live in a society made inharmonious by the 
influence of men of worldly ambition, of restless 
and discordant minds, who are ever stirring up 
strife in political and social circles. 

Is it not true that these classes of deluded 
mortals are largely responsible for the social and 
political commotion of our time ? The men, rich 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 19 

or poor, who harbor hatred in their hearts against 
their brother man, sink to a very low level, and 
really have no standing in any civilized commu- 
nity. This contention which jealousy and hatred 
engender between people of different conditions 
in society "is the real cause of the friction between 
labor and capital. Capital is as much a necessity 
for the poor as for the rich, and in its use the 
public and each individual receive their share 
in the benefit. 

Between the rich and the poor we have the 
same extreme in man which is found in all de- 
partments of nature. The forest trees, the shrubs, 
and vegetation, all have their variety in extremes. 

In this kingdom of nature, no one accuses a 
tree of being a robber because it is greater than 
the shrubs that grow beneath its branches. The 
harmony of nature is manifested in endless variety, 
and the mutual dependence of one upon all and 
all upon one is never a subject of criticism. The 
same extreme exists in man, and who shall pre- 
sume to disturb the harmony or break the peace 
by disclaiming against the order of nature ? The 
inequality of condition is as great in the mineral, 
the vegetable, or the animal kingdom, as it is in 
man. I believe that every thing created, from the 
mineral and the vegetable to the animal kingdom, 
including man, has absolutely equal rights, each 



20 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

in his own sphere and condition. " God is no 
respecter of persons," and shows no partiality in 
his works. 

This equality of rights which all have could 
not be maintained without the endless variety of 
condition. Pope says : — 

"Extremes in nature equal ends produce; 
In man they work to some mysterious use." 

He does not explain the use of such mystery, 
but it may arise from the fact that man is the only 
thinking being who has power to comprehend the 
difference in condition. If this knowledge makes 
man dissatisfied with his place in the world, and 
induces him to contend against his brother and the 
natural law, then a little learning is truly a dan- 
gerous thing ; and man should extend his knowl- 
edge, and find that there is a law of compensation 
extending through all nature, and its benign in- 
fluence is felt by the poor as well as the rich, and 
by all created things. 

" Nature's children all divide her care; 
The fur that warms a monarch warmed a bear." 

Under the Constitution and laws of our State, 
the laboring man, who pays a poll tax of two dol- 
lars a year, has the same right to vote, and the 
same protection, as the capitalist, who pays an 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 21 

annual tax of a hundred thousand dollars. The 
children of the rich and the poor are equally eligi- 
ble to education at the public expense. 

Take, as an illustration, our own city. Boston 
has paid many million dollars for schoolhouses ; 
for teachers, and running expenses of our schools 
for the school year 1895, $2,175,686.23 per an- 
num. We have 74,666 pupils attending these 
schools. Dividing the total annual expense by 
the number of pupils attending, we have $29.14 
per annum for each pupil. Each child is supposed 
to attend school twelve years, from six to eighteen. 
Twelve years at $29.14 equals $349.68 for each 
child. Suppose a poor laboring man has five chil- 
dren ; their education costs the city $1,748.40. 
The city gives this poor laboring man, in educat- 
ing his children, $1,748.40. This money for the 
support of our schools is drawn from the property 
holders for the public good, as much for the bene- 
fit of the poor man's children as for the children of 
the rich. 

Does the dissatisfied laboring man ever realize 
that the many million dollars is collected every 
year from persons having property ; from the cap- 
italists who are taxed for this amount of money to 
support schools for the equal benefit of all ? This 
is all right, and I only wish they could all be 
better educated. But does it ever occur to the 



22 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

poor, or the laboring man, that thankful hearts 
would be more appropriate than denouncements 
against the capitalists who, by their care and in- 
dustry, provide the means for the education of all ? 

It may not be possible for all to become rich. 
But I think it is the solemn duty of every man to 
be industrious and saving, and try to accumulate 
a competency to maintain his independence and 
manhood in old age, and to provide for his chil- 
dren. 

When employers do not love or respect the men 
they employ, and do not treat them as brothers, 
the laborers lose confidence in them. When 
laborers do not love or respect their employers 
they will not be likely to work for their interest, 
and by reason of ill feeling and evil thoughts dis- 
tracting their minds, they cannot act in harmony. 
This discordant condition of things is all wrong, 
and such disturbers of the public peace should be 
held responsible for the abnormal social commo- 
tion. 

The trouble is not with the money or the busi- 
ness-like manner in which it has been used. The 
real difficulty lies in the lack of spiritual develop- 
ment or education of the parties themselves. 
They should seek first " the kingdom of God and 
his righteousness;" then their souls and all their 
riches and all their poverty will be consecrated to 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 23 

God and humanity, and they will in spirit reap 
their reward. Men will not be condemned for 
having wealth, if they obtained it honestly, nor for 
being poor, if honestly so, and coming to their ex- 
tremity by doing their best, but for not using their 
wealth and their poverty in accordance with the 
higher law. 

The young lawyer who told Jesus that he had 
kept the commandments from his youth up, and 
yet lacked one thing, did not go away sorrowful 
because he had great possessions, but because he 
had not cultivated his spiritual nature, and was 
not inspired by the mind that was in Christ. 

There should be no conflict between capital and 
labor, between the employer and the employed, 
for their interests are identical. The different 
conditions and interests may cause competition 
among business men, but this should produce no 
ill feeling between them. It is in this common 
struggle of life that our powers of body and mind 
are developed, and in which we are all being 
weighed ; and every man must be accepted for 
what he is worth. Merit, not bluster, makes char- 
acter, and determines place. The time, the talents, 
or faculties which God has given to each individ- 
ual, whether in brain or in muscle, are the tools 
with which each individual is to carve out his 
place as a factor in our struggle for advancement. 



24 THOUGHTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 

One's tools may be sharp, or they may be dull ; 
but whatever they are they belong to him, and 
they should indicate to him his peculiar work and 
his proper place in society or in the world. Hav- 
ing found his proper sphere in life, every day of 
honest toil will be to his credit. The most humble 
part faithfully performed is sure to bring its re- 
ward ; and in such faithful performance of duty he 
will have no occasion to find fault with his neigh- 
bor, with his government, or with his God. 

Nothing can be more preposterous than to sup- 
pose that a government can be formed or a 

SOCIETY ORGANIZED 

under which all men can be equal in ability, 
equally successful in business, or accumulate an 
equal amount of wealth. On the other hand, 
nothing can be more -injudicious or unwise than 
for the rich to exercise that extreme selfishness 
which would separate them from their fellow-men, 
and thus ignore their responsibility to society and. 
their duty to those who possess less ability, and 
who have less worldy distinction than themselves. 
The principle of individuality and its corre- 
sponding responsibility is reposed in every life ; but 
without sacrificing individuality, every man should 
realize the fact that the good of the whole depends 
upon the good of each, and the good of each upon 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 25 

the good of the whole. " No man liveth to him- 
self" (St. Paul). 

Man's gifts and talents are varied, but there is 
a law of compensation running through all nature. 
The capitalist is really as dependent upon the 
laborer to carry out his enterprises as the laborer 
is upon the capitalist for his daily bread, and I 
think I may safely say that the troubles and con- 
stant unrest of the rich make them on the whole 
as unhappy and as comfortless as the poor. The 
poor, it is true, have their troubles ; and they often 
lose their richest blessings and greatest happiness 
by burdening their minds about things they do not 
possess, and thinking that if they had money they 
would be happy. But a moment's reflection 
would satisfy them that 

HAPPINESS 

comes from within, and is the result of harmonious 
conditions of mind. Wealth may procure the 
means of comfort and pleasure. But money never 
did, and never can, elevate the human soul, or 
yield any abiding happiness. 

" Virtue alone is happiness below." 

Gold does not make a man rich. The million- 
aire is not rich because he is a millionaire. The 
millions which he possesses are the measure of his 



26 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

money, not the man. The real man is no richer 
or better for the money, except so far as he uses it 
for the good of humanity ; for it is not current in 
that country to which we are all travelling. 

Notwithstanding all these facts, we are con- 
stantly hearing of social and political commotions, 
of the cruel reign of capital, speeches from the 
leaders of labor organizations, and newspapers 
filled with fanciful plans of the remedy for such 
evils ; but we find the real difficulty too deeply 
seated in the human heart to be remedied by such 
speculative theories, or to be removed by govern- 
ment or labor organizations, or by any social reform 
upon a 

MATERIAL BASIS. 

Many plans have been offered for the solution 
of this great problem, but they are not practical. 
Profit-sharing has had its advocates. But as all 
human enterprises are liable to failure, it would be 
impractical to share profits with those who are 
incapable of sharing losses. The overthrow of 
existing social conditions will not bring to the 
world the high spiritual state that should prevail 
among humanity. It is beyond the power of rev- 
olution ; it must come through spiritual evolution 
in the individual. 

Our social and political troubles will not be re- 
moved till our people as individuals think and live 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 27 

in love. They will not be removed so long as the 
evil thoughts, and the malice which evil thoughts 
engender, exist between people in the various con- 
ditions of society. In short, they will not be re- 
moved till all hatred and all wrong feelings give 
place to respect and brotherly love. This change 
can be accomplished only by love and the grace of 
God changing the minds and the hearts of the 
people from the carnal and contentious mind to 
the unselfish or spiritual mind. It is the Golden 
Rule, not the golden calf, we need. 

If society at large is to make any permanent 
advance towards a better government or higher 
attainments in life and human happiness, there 
must be a radical change in the heart and in the 
life and character of the people. " That govern- 
ment is best which is best administered ;" and it is 
also true that the peace, harmony, and prosperity 
of any community depend more upon the good 
thoughts and right actions of the individuals than 
upon the administration of any government. But 
this fact does not prove that we can dispense with 
governmental authority. Nature, reason, and all 
history teach the necessity of the recognition of 
authority, of some governing power to restrain 
those who would interfere with the rights of 
others, or disturb the public peace. It is evident, 
therefore, that 



28 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

ANARCHY 

can never be successfully substituted for human 
government on earth or for the government of 
God in the universe. If a man cannot be satisfied 
with God's rule, let him — 

" Snatch from his hand the balance and the rod, 
Rejudge his justice, he the god of God." 

God has ordained law and order, not only for 
the universe, but for man. We need law to pro- 
tect the public ; we need law to restrain corpora- 
tions, because they have no souls, and their officers 
persist in doing acts of injustice and oppression 
which they would not be likely to do as individ- 
uals. We need laws to protect the public interest, 
and compel corporations to deal justly, and show 
proper regard for the rights of humanity. We 
enact and enforce law to maintain equal rights, 
but we cannot expect that any law on earth or 
in heaven can make us equal in condition. 

The legislative act which legalizes the corpora- 
tion necessarily confers upon such corporation 
power to accomplish certain objects of interest to 
the people or state which cannot be accomplished 
so well by individuals. Such corporate power 
makes conditions that may give to corporations 
some advantages over individual interest upon a 
business plane of life, where different conditions 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 29 

make equality impracticable. Yet facts prove 
that such corporations afford individuals and the 
public tenfold more benefit in taxation, and im- 
proved condition of the country, than the corpora- 
tion can in any way receive from itself. 

Such corporations, with all their wealth or cor- 
porate powers, cannot interfere with our inalien- 
able rights, or take from us the right to worship 
God ; they cannot take from us our manhood, or 
our faculty for the enjoyment of the beauties of 
the natural world ; they cannot take from us 
affection, truth, and love. All these higher bless- 
ings we can enjoy in perfect terms of equality 
according to our capacity ; for they belong to God 
and humanity, and are beyond the influence of 
wealth or any corporate power. 

The saddest aspect of the doctrine of socialism, 
according to the speeches of some of the leaders 
on social reform, is the thought that they are look- 
ing for the better condition of things from the 
standpoint of outward prosperity, from the mate- 
rial side of the question, whereas the reform re- 
quired is inward regeneration, or a change of 
thought and heart, from the carnal to the spirit- 
ual. Without such a change, no organization can 
secure perfect peace and harmony to a people 
occupying so many different conditions and varied 
interests. Without religious faith in the Divine 



30 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

as their foundation and guide, no people have 
attained any great prominence in the world. No 
people have ever made permanent advance in 
government or in civilization where God and 
man's higher spiritual nature were ignored, and 
the people thought only of material prosperity. 

All the mysteries of life come from our spiritual 
nature ; and a socialism or any other ism that has 
no spiritual gospel in it, instead of improving our 
moral or religious condition, will lead its followers 
into a wilderness of doubt. 

In solving the 

SOCIAL PROBLEMS 

of our day, we must not worship or depend upon 
our culture or our civilization. Culture or civili- 
zation did not make man, but man develops cul- 
ture ; and if God be left out of our thoughts and 
out of our lives, we shall find that our civilization 
will not civilize, and that our culture will not 
save us. If we will but look into the depth of 
our own souls, we shall discern mental or spiritual 
conditions that require something more than ex- 
ternal environment to harmonize. Our nature 
demands a higher motive than the material world 
can give, higher than culture or civilization af- 
fords. We need a spiritual awakening that shall 
set the soul on fire, and lead us to throw off the 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 31 

bondage of sin and worldly ambition, and rise to 
a higher and a better life. This necessary change 
is the battle of the spirit, which each individual 
must fight out for himself. Government, society, 
and the church can never make a man better than 
he is willing to help make himself. 

The world is waking up to the fact that for 
thousands of years we have been sowing seeds 
of discord, following evil desires and impure 
thoughts ; that our troubles and conflicts are of 
our own making; and that in all political, civil, 
and religious commotions we are reaping just 
what we have been sowing. Our evil thoughts, 
as well as our wrong actions, inflict suffering upon 
our neighbor and upon the community, no less 
than upon ourselves. We should therefore try 
to realize the fact that the restiveness of the 
people, and the moral and political factions which 
distract society and disturb the peace of nations, 
are but the legitimate result of the people wander- 
ing from God and their higher nature, disregard- 
ing divine law, and acting upon false ideas of 
human government and of individual rights. 

" Remember, man, the ' Universal Cause 
Acts not by partial, but by general laws.' " 

Let all restless spirits and all disturbers of the 
public peace remember that we did not make the 



32 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

world or the laws by which it is governed ; that 
we cannot better our material conditions or im- 
prove our moral nature by contending against laws 
which God has ordained. When real or imagi- 
nary wrong exists in our social system between 
corporations or individuals, capital and labor, it 
is better not to take the law into our own hands, 
but make a thorough investigation, and have all 
made right by the proper authorities ; for there 
is always danger in hasty or ill-considered action, 
especially in a government like ours, where the 
laws are supposed to express the will of the 
people, and can be changed as the knowledge and 
the wisdom of the people advance. 

It is true that organized society, acting in its 
unified capacity, owes something in return to the 
individual ; and a great question arises, a new 
problem comes before us, a struggle between the 
opposing tendencies of the times, a strife between 
sociology and individuality. The influence of this 
contest has already extended over the civilized 
world, and will demand a hearing as a factor in 
political economy. We are not at present able 
to comprehend the magnitude of the results that 
may follow the discussion and final settlement of 
the social question. They are far-reaching in their 
tendencies, and the permanency of the government 
itself may become involved in the struggle. 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 33 

Before committing overt acts against govern- 
ment, let us remember that social organizations, in 
all their forms and with all their claims, preten- 
sions, and assumptions, can have no power except 
what they derive from their individual members, 
who must always be held responsible for the acts 
of such organizations. Socialism, communism, or 
any organization that resorts to physical force 
in defiance of law and order, may be regarded as 
the aggregation of that feeling of personal liberty 
which disregards the rights of others, and runs 
from liberty into license. 

In view of such danger to our institutions, we 
should, as individuals or as members of organiza- 
tions, be cautious how we promote contention 
among our people ; for we know not what " a great 
matter a little fire kindleth." Let us act with 
discretion ; for we may stir up a strife, and accu- 
mulate a force we cannot control. We may in 
our zeal, "not according to knowledge," destroy 
our institutions ; we may revolutionize our gov- 
ernment ; but, unless by the grace of God we rev- 
olutionize the human heart, we shall soon find 
ourselves facing the same old problems. 

The question to be settled, evidently lies with 
the individual as the responsible party ; and the 
evils from which we are suffering can be avoided 
or removed only by removing the evil thoughts 



34 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

and unholy desires from the mind and heart of the 
individual. When this important work is accom- 
plished, when righteousness pervades the minds 
and hearts of the people, and they are liberated 
from evil thoughts and immoral practices, we may 
be sure the community is also free ; for society 
has no moral evils that do not originate with, and 
belong to, the individual. 

The world, the government, or social organiza- 
tions can never change, revolutionize, or purify 
the hearts and lives of individuals ; but if all 
individuals would purify their own hearts and 
lives, they could not only institute good govern- 
ment, but could by the grace of God redeem the 
world. All reforms must come from the in- 
dividual. We must therefore accept the fact 
that people are not made virtuous or religious 
by law ; that human law is not the foundation 
or the fountain of love to God or love to 
man. 

Before we can remove these ills from the com- 
munity, we must elevate man into proper relations 
with his Maker, and start upon a spiritual basis 
of reform. This requires a radical change of 
thought, a general reception by the people of the 
gospel of truth, which alone has power to change 
the hearts and lives of the people, and lift the 
race from the carnal to the spiritual plane of 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 35 

thought, and insure the peace of society and the 
prosperity of the world. 

I am not a pessimist ; but I recognize the abuse 
of the principles of freedom and religious liberty, 
and the 

MATERIAL SOCIALISM 

of the times, as the principal disturbing influences, 
which are found in all departments of life, in the 
family, in the neighborhood, and in the church, 
as well as in the State and nation. This feeling 
of social dissension has become a national sin, a 
species of civil insanity or moral disease, which 
if not checked will endanger our institutions, and 
may subvert the principles of Christian freedom 
and political liberty, and plunge us into the gulf 
of materialism. 

We have had object-lessons which illustrate 
this danger in some of our organizations, where 
the managers of strikes have exercised arbitrary 
power, and, if I remember rightly, counselled 
violence and the lawless destruction of property, 
as if actuated by hatred, and determined to ruin 
if they could not rule. 

It seems to me that it requires no argument 
to show that physical force by organizations, or 
retaliation by individuals, can be productive of 
no good, nor afford the least satisfaction to any 



36 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

human soul. Any enterprise by individuals, or 
by social organizations, that does not enlist moral 
and religious power, must surely fail. Common 
law, and the mutual interest of all honest and 
trustworthy citizens, are not to be sacrificed by 
lawless individuals or organizations. 

Labor organizations, trusts, secret societies, na- 
tionalism, socialism, change in laws, or other hu- 
man devices, can never change the heart or lives 
of the people, or restore peace and harmony to our 
distracted world. For permanent relief we must 
appeal directly to man's better nature, changing 
his life and his mode of thought from the carnal 
to the spiritual. This is the true gospel, and is 
the only CURE for the ills of humanity. 

POVERTY AND ITS ATTENDANT TLLS ARE PER- 
SONAL AND NOT SOCIAL. 

Society is affected by poverty only as the suffer- 
ings of one part affect the whole. Communities 
suffer at times from sweeping epidemics which 
demand immediate action from the proper au- 
thorities to protect the citizens, but it is only 
individuals that are attacked by the disease. So 
in States and nations, the sequence of poverty, 
ignorance, vice, and immorality is only of the 
individual; but the effects cannot be confined to 
individual suffering. The state and the commu- 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 37 

nity are what individuals make them. The state 
in its unified capacity should co-operate with the 
individual in all reforms, but no government or 
social organization can inaugurate a system that 
can change the thoughts or the heart of the in- 
dividual. Reform of our moral nature must com- 
mence in the heart and life of the individual. 
" Let the wicked forsake his way, and the un- 
righteous man his thoughts : and let him return 
unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; 
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon " 
(Isa. lv. 7). 

If people would follow the prophet's prescrip- 
tion, free themselves from ignorance, vice, and all 
evil habits, consecrate themselves to God and 
humanity, we should live in peace and harmony; 
good men would be elected to office, good laws 
would be enacted, and strife and contention would 
cease. 

Although each man is but a drop in the great 
sea of humanity, yet he is an integral part of ou] 
government; and his good thoughts and his good 
behavior are necessary to his own happiness and 
the unity and welfare of society. 

Man's mental activity and physical, social, and 
religious life, are so intimately connected that we 
lose to a certain extent the sense of their recip- 
rocal action upon each other. It is true that the 



38 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

INDIVIDUAL MAXES SOCIETY, 

and not society the individual. These individual 
and social influences interact; and while the in- 
dividual makes society, society to a certain extent 
moulds the individual. This intermingling of 
social forces, if on a spiritual plane, would dom- 
inate the material, and tend to promote harmony ; 
but on a material basis, and in our present state of 
civilization, no political or social organization or 
church can absolve or lessen the responsibility of 
the individual member. A man cannot hide him- 
self in society, and shake off his responsibility as 
an individual. It matters not how much society 
as a unit may in a general way owe to individ- 
uals, it cannot relieve them from their responsi- 
bility to God and humanity as individuals. 

Government in our country is supposed to ex- 
press the will of the people, and we cannot rea- 
sonably expect it to rise higher in moral grandeur 
than the best sentiment of the people who com- 
pose the government. It is evident, therefore, 
that the evils which affect our community, our 
nation, and the world, and about which so much 
is said, are 

PERSONAL, AND NOT SOCIAL. 

Socialism or governmental changes on a mate- 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 39 

rial plane can never reach the real difficulty, nor 
harmonize the human race. 

CHARITABLE DEVICES CAN NEVER REMOVE 
POVERTY 

and its attendant ills. You cannot really help a 
man who is not trying to help himself. You may 
give him momentary assistance ; but it is never- 
theless true, that the more a person is helped, the 
weaker becomes his ambition and his power to 
help himself. 

Much of our charity of to-day is nothing more 
nor less than putting a premium on incompetency. 
Generosity and selfishness are the extremes which 
we find everywhere. The exact equipoise is hard 
to maintain. That charity-giving tends to impov- 
erish the receiver there can be no doubt, and, if 
continued, destroys his creative abilities, para- 
lyzes his moral feelings, and turns his gratitude, if 
he ever had any, into a secret resentment towards 
the giver, because the gifts do not increase ac- 
cording to his desires. Of course society must 
take care of those who are not competent to pro- 
vide for themselves ; but to banish poverty and 
its attendant ills, we must arouse the spiritual na- 
ture, and develop in every individual a feeling of 
responsibility, of independence, self-reliance, and 
of true manhood. 



40 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

CAPITAL AND LABOR 

are important factors in the affairs of the world, 
and yet without mind to direct their use they 
accomplish very little. Men who inherit money, 
and do not know its proper use, soon lose it. Men 
who live upon the wealth hoarded by others are 
likely to become sluggish in mind and body, and 
cannot long hold their possession against the more 
active forces about them. Laziness destroys the 
ambition, and if a man once submits to its demor- 
alizing effects it is hard to arouse him from his 
lassitude. 

Labor in itself is of no value. A man with a 
sledge-hammer may work all his life trying to 
demolish the granite hill, without benefit to him- 
self or society. I have known men to labor hard 
for years, and accomplish very little, because their 
labor was not well directed. Labor without intel- 
ligent thought to direct it is valueless. The real 
value of labor may be said to be in proportion 
to the amount of well-directed thought bestowed 
upon it. 

LABOR, LIKE CAPITAL, 

to be profitable, must be directed by intelligence. 
If a man has not intelligence enough to employ 
himself to advantage, he should sell his labor to 
some one who can direct it to some profitable use, 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 41 

and who is willing to pay him for value received. 
But let no man say that u the world owes him a 
living," for it does not. The world owes to every 
man in common an opportunity to earn his own 
living. 

There are always reciprocal duties connected 
with rights. The relation of rights and responsi- 
bility is always mutual. When God gives a man 
life with power to do good or ill, he imposes upon 
him a great responsibility, the extent of which I 
fear we do not realize. No man has a right to 
accept from the government or any organization 
any office or trust unless he is willing to assume, 
and feels competent to perform, the duties con- 
nected with such office or trust. No man in a 
healthy condition can justly claim rights unless 
he is willing to assume the duties connected with 
such rights. If people would consider this fact 
more, we should hear less about rights, and more 
about duties. No man in a healthy condition has 
a right to live in this world unless he is willing 
to perform the duties which God and nature justly 
demand of him. It is written, " He who will not 
work neither shall he eat." Of course the sick, 
or any who may be incapacitated to perform the 
duties of life, have a right to proper care, and to 
our sympathy, till they have recovered from such 
disability. 



42 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

In all this I see no cause for complaint. Every 
one is free to act for himself. The field before 
him is large ; and there is nothing to prevent any 
one from engaging in any lawful business where 
he can use his brain or his muscle, and make all 
the success his intelligence or his enterprise de- 
serves. 

We should all strive to secure our own individ- 
ual physical, moral, and spiritual development ; 
but there is no reason why a man who has five 
talents should find fault with his government, or 
quarrel with his neighbor who has been given more 
or less talents than himself. " Where much is 
given, much is required." A man who has but 
one talent should not hide it in the earth, but use 
it faithfully and to the best advantage ; and his 
one talent will in some way command for him all 
the reward that his condition necessarily requires, 
and the u Well done, good and faithful servant." 

You will observe that the man referred to in 
this parable was not condemned because he had 
but one talent, but because he did not use the 
talent that was given him. The emphatic point 
of admonition in this parable is in the fact that 
men of one talent do not use this talent, because 
it is one and not many, while the necessity of the 
case demands the same faithfulness in the use of 
the one talent as in the use of many. 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 43 

Men deceive themselves about what consti- 
tutes real riches, and their proper use. " A 
man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the 
things possessed." A man's real possessions are 
just as large as his own soul. If his title-deeds 
cover more, the surplus acres own him, and not he 
the acres. The effect of large possessions upon 
persons whose thoughts do not extend beyond the 
realm of their physical existence tends to belittle 
the man, and it is often found that the soul de- 
creases in inverse ratio as the possessions increase. 
This universal law of recompense men are slow to 
learn. 

The rich man may be the envy of the people ; 
but riches, except for investments and improve- 
ments for the public good, should be considered 
only as necessary baggage. If we knew that in 
our journey of life we should at every turn be 
supplied with everything we could desire, we 
would not have the trouble of carrying baggage 
or money with us, for it would be absolutely use- 
less. But the world is not made or run upon that 
plan. God has ordained that we should labor to 
obtain the means of living as we pass along. If a 
man has one trunk, and it contains all the neces- 
sary baggage or money essential for his journey 
through this life, he is really better off, or in a 
true sense richer, than the millionaire, who has 



44 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

the care all through his journey of life of thou- 
sands of trunks or dollars which he cannot use 
for himself ; and it is a question whether the care 
and the perplexity of having so much baggage or 
money do not make the millionaire more unhappy 
than the poor or common people. 

All the facts connected with obtaining large 
estates go to prove that wealthy men labor hard 
to accumulate and save money, which is taxed for 
governmental and educational purposes, and for 
all improvements made directly by the govern- 
ment; while the capitalists themselves really re- 
ceive from day to day only their living expenses, 
according to their capacity for enjoyment, which 
is all that any one can use. 

Capital is productive only so far as it is em- 
ployed, and I believe it is a fact that no capitalist 
can use his money without benefiting the people 
at least ten dollars for every dollar of benefit he 
retains for himself. 

All legitimate business transactions go to prove 
that capital, although apparently in the hands of 
the individual, really belongs to the public. It 
matters not how much money a man may claim to 
have, he cannot use it in any legitimate way ex- 
cept under public law and under public supervis- 
ion. He cannot even erect a building in any city 
without first submitting his plans to the city au- 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 45 

tkority; and if they are not in every respect sat- 
isfactory, they must be changed to conform to the 
building-laws before he can be allowed to go on 
with his enterprise. This supervision is continued 
during the whole process of building, the work 
being constantly under the eye of the public in- 
spector of buildings. No man, rich or poor, can 
make any important alteration on his own dwelling 
without such supervision. 

In view of all these and other facts, it would 
seem that the public really owned the capital, and 
that it was being invested for the public interest, 
although it is held by the capitalist against the 
claim of any other individual. 

The capitalist holds his wealth, and can use it 
for the public good, and under public supervision, 
in building railroads, palaces, founding and en- 
dowing institutions of learning, or any legitimate 
enterprise which the public may sanction. The 
capitalist, with talents so well adapted for the 
work, uses his capital to advance the public inter- 
est much better than it could be done by the 
public. 

Is it not true that the capitalists, under the 
restrictions imposed by the public, do much better 
work for the public good, and for developing the 
resources of the country, than could possibly be 
accomplished were property divided equally among 



46 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

the masses ? If such distribution were made, and 
a man had sufficient ambition, he Avould not have 
funds enough to allow him to engage in any great 
enterprise. 

NO CAPITAL, NO ENTERPRISE. 

Had property for the last hundred years been 
kept divided among the masses, and no person 
allowed to accumulate wealth, we probably would 
not have had a railroad to the Pacific coast for a 
century to come, and a great part of our country 
Avould have remained undeveloped. There would 
have been no inducement for people to emigrate ; 
and the vast extent of our Western territory and 
the Pacific coast, now connected by railroads with 
all parts of the country, and occupied by millions 
of happy people, would have remained in the pos- 
session of the buffalo and the bear. 

Think of the thousands of millions of dollars 
which the capitalists are paying for labor in build- 
ing, operating, and keeping in repair, all our rail- 
roads ! And what would now be the condition of 
the country if our enterprising citizens had not 
been allowed to accumulate capital to pay for such 
wonderful improvements ? 

If our people could realize what capital has 
done, and is doing, for this country, I feel sure 
that individuals and social organizations would 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 47 

refrain from denouncing property as robbery, and 
capitalists as robbers. 

I do not say that there are not robbers among 
capitalists. Dishonest men are found in every 
class and in every condition of life, but I think 
they are not found in a greater proportion among 
capitalists than among other classes of people. 
Dishonesty shows itself in many ways. A man 
who thinks he would not steal may defraud his 
neighbor in other ways. There may be laborers 
who would not steal from their employers, and 
yet defraud them by not performing faithfully the 
labor for which they are paid. The laborer who 
is paid for a full day's work, and does but three- 
fourths of a day's work, robs his employer of 
twenty-five per cent of his wages. The gross 
amount of such robbery may be less than the 
day's robbery of the dishonest capitalist, and yet 
the per cent may be much greater, and that is the 
only basis of comparison; for in robbery, as in 
rewards, the criterion must be according to our 
condition and "several abilities." 

Men are dishonest and untrustworthy not be- 
cause they are capitalists, clerks, bookkeepers, or 
laborers ; the dishonesty is in themselves, and will 
crop out as circumstances may offer, without re- 
gard to their wealth, condition, or occupation. 

The ambition that inspires men to accumulate 



48 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

wealth, and hold it as private property, is the 
inherent right of every citizen. It is the great 
incentive to action, and I have no doubt is for 
the best good of all concerned. 

If we had no capital, we would have no means 
of carrying out enterprises, and very little labor 
would be required. I know that it is believed by 
some that government should take entire control 
and ownership of all public works and great en- 
terprises required in the development of the coun- 
try. It is undoubtedly true that government can 
better manage the post-office department, because 
it extends through all the different States ; but 
how far the principle of government control 
should be extended I am not prepared to say. If 
every great enterprise belonged to the govern- 
ment, and private citizens were not allowed to 
accumulate wealth for public taxation, it is diffi- 
cult to see how the government could get money 
needed to pay wages to the laborer, or even to 
meet its running expenses ; for government can 
have no money except what it receives directly or 
indirectly from the people. 

Within the last few years our government has 
been obliged to borrow several hundred million 
dollars for governmental purposes. The govern- 
ment obtained the amount required by issuing 
bonds. But the government could not have 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 49 

obtained money on these bonds if we had no 
capitalists with money to purchase them. The 
government of a people without capitalists could 
not carry out any great enterprise, unless it forced 
the people to perform the labor without compen- 
sation. 

The laborers of to-day who demand good wages 
from the capitalist in carrying out his enterprise 
would not enjoy being reduced to bondage, and 
obliged to labor without compensation, as slaves 
to the ruling power, as in ancient times. The 
temples of the Acropolis at Athens, the Colosseum 
and Imperial palaces of Rome, the mighty Egyp- 
tian temples, and the Pyramids themselves, were 
built under governmental order and supervision, 
by the people, who were forced to work as slaves 
and menials. The history of the world proves 
that when governments have exercised despotic 
power, and deprived their subjects of the right to 
hold private property, the people were virtually 
reduced to bondage. This has been the condition 
of the masses in all the ancient countries when 
everything was under governmental control. Such 
conditions destroy all incentive to labor and in- 
dustry, and prevent the development of indepen- 
dence and manly feeling, 

Let me give an illustration of the value and 
power of capital and enterprise in developing our 



50 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

country. On my first visit to Chicago by rail 
I was obliged to purchase my ticket and check 
my baggage to Worcester only, for that was the 
extent of the corporation. From Worcester to 
Springfield was the extent of the next company's 
power; and so after spending about three days. 
and purchasing tickets and re-checking baggage 
eight or ten times, I finally reached Chicago at 
a cost of, I think, sixty-five dollars in cash, and 
three days' time and board. I had about the same 
experience on returning. These various corpora- 
tions were too poor to do their business properly. 
After a few years there appeared capitalists who 
purchased and consolidated these various roads ; 
and now we can purchase our tickets and check 
our baggage to Chicago for from twenty to twenty- 
five dollars, and go through in thirty hours, saving 
two days' time and about forty dollars in money ; 
the same on our return, thus saving seventy-five 
or eighty dollars and four days' time and board on 
every visit to Chicago. So you see that the capi- 
talists who are so terribly denounced to-day are 
practically giving or saving every one travelling 
to Chicago and return, in money, board, and time, 
at least a hundred dollars, while the owners of 
the road have made about ten dollars profit on our 
fare. Think of the amount of travel and the 
immense amount of money saved by the people in 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 51 

this country by the use of large capital employed 
in railroads alone. I think it is within bounds to 
say, that for every dollar the capitalist makes by 
running the roads, he saves ten for the individual 
and the public, in money and in permanent im- 
provements for the public good. 

The same is true with capital used in any other 
way. A builder erects a house, and makes per- 
haps a few hundred dollars for himself ; but he 
has virtually given the public the building for 
taxation for all time. I very much doubt if cap- 
italists can use their money without giving to 
people or the public, in some way, ten dollars for 
every dollar they save for themselves. I think 
we may all. be satisfied with such distribution of 
their wealth if we do not look beyond the mate- 
rial side of the question. 

Our capitalists are intelligent, and, I believe, 
generally honest men ; and who shall say that they 
have not used their riches to the advantage and 
the material prosperity of the world? They have 
built railroads, and in many ways developed the 
resources of the country. They have furnished 
employment for the people, and kept the world 
from becoming stagnant. They have endowed 
our colleges, furnished means for the advance- 
ment of the arts and sciences. I have no good 
reason for supposing that the money itself has not 



52 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE 

been used to best promote the material wealth 
and prosperity of our country. 

The great wealth and prosperity of our country 
are more the result of brain-work than they are of 
muscle-work. The inventions of machinery have 
revolutionized the manner of labor, and enable 
one man to accomplish as much as would have 
required two or three men before the introduction 
of machinery. A builder prepares his material by 
machinery, and is enabled to construct a house 
in less than one-half the time required before the 
age of machinery. 

The benefit of machinery, which is the result of 
brain-work, extends to every enterprise in the civ- 
ilized world. I remember when the tanning of 
hides into leather required a full year. Xow it 
is accomplished in a few weeks. The making of 
shoes by machinery has reduced the labor more 
than one-half, and yet the laborer gets higher 
wages for a much shorter day's work. 

The importance of brain-work is well illustrated 
by the following incident : — 

A farmer who took summer boarders had one 
of very studious habits, who confined himself to 
his room the larger portion of the time, engaged in 
reading and study. The farmer, being exasperated 
at the apparent aimless and lazy life of his guest, 
asked him on one occasion why he did not work 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 53 

for a living, and do something by means of work, 
as other men did. The guest replied by asking 
him how he liked the plough with which he was 
at that moment turning over the sod. " It is the 
best plough ever invented," answered the farmer. 
" It saves one-third the work, and nearly half the 
time consumed in using the oldTfashioned ploughs 
we used to have ; but I don't see what this has 
to do with the matter of your doing something for 
a living." The guest calmly replied, " I am the 
inventor of that plough ; and it was by long hours 
of deep mental work and study that I was enabled 
to give to the world what saves, according to your 
own story, both time and effort for the farmers of 
the world." 

In all the vast enterprises of our time the cap- 
italist furnishes the means, the contractor agrees 
to complete the work for a certain amount of 
money, and employs the laborers, and the work is 
completed. In such transaction the capitalist has 
invested his money ; the contractor has received a 
profit upon every day's work ; the laborer has re- 
ceived his wages ; and all parties realize in com- 
mon with the general public the advantage of the 
improvement. 

I think it within bounds to say that the amount 
of permanent benefit from such transactions re- 
ceived by the parties and the general public is 



54 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

ten times as great as the benefit is to the capital- 
ist. 

Take another transaction, where combined labor 
demands greatly increased wages : the contractor 
must increase his demand npon the capitalist, and 
if the amount demanded exceeds the value of the 
investment, the capitalist withholds his money, and 
the enterprise is not carried out. The result is 
that the capital remains useless in the bank, the 
contractor and laborers remain idle, and' hard 
times for them is the result. Such cases, being 
multiplied by hundreds of thousands throughout 
the country, stop enterprise and the demand for 
labor, and produce what we call hard times. 

A manufacturer who to prevent strikes is 
obliged to pay his help more than the profits of 
the factory will warrant, must eventually with- 
draw his capital. When we realize the fact that 
a large portion of our population cannot, from 
some cause, employ themselves to advantage, is it 
not better for such persons to work for the wages 
the condition of society and the times will war- 
rant, than to force the owner into retirement and 
the laborer into idleness ? 

I am not setting myself up as a judge in these 
matters ; but would it not be better for all con- 
cerned were there no combinations to obstruct the 
natural course of business, and thus comply with 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 55 

the natural law of compensation, which we cannot 
violate without suffering the consequences? If 
we would all act under this natural law, we should 
each receive our mutual share, not an equal 
amount, but "according to our several abilities," 
as God and nature designed. Every one would 
then be free to find and fill his proper place in 
the world, and be and act himself, instead of being 
a part of a machine or organization as at present. 
Acting under a feeling of individual freedom, a 
man can be more of a man. There is in human 
nature a desire for individual freedom, and an in- 
herent love and respect for whatever is free. All 
nature rejoices in the spirit of freedom. 

Man is said to be the crowning glory of the 
world. Is it not strange that such an exalted be- 
ing, with high spiritual nature, should allow his 
thoughts to unfold from the carnal mind, and live 
upon the animal plane of thought ? I have 
known men who apparently worked hard to ob- 
tain a living by intrigue, who could make a good 
living, and in time become comparatively rich, if 
they would exercise an equal amount of zeal and 
energy in honest and legitimate methods. If man 
is the glory, he is certainly the riddle, of the 
world. 

We are not all created alike ; but we are all 
created for some special purpose, and given talents 



56 THOUGHTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 

which adapt us to perform the duties connected 
with our sphere in life, and it is of no use for one 
man's talents or personality to come in conflict 
with that of others ; " all are but parts of one stu- 
pendous whole," and it is useless for one part to 
quarrel with other parts. Let each and every one 
accept and strive to fill the sphere marked out by 
Heaven ; and let us all purify our own hearts and 
minds from evil thoughts, and thank God for all 
his mercies, and we shall have no occasion to find 
fault with our opportunity or the condition of 
society. 

What may be the future of our country we 
know not. But in the past we know that the 
individual and the right of private property have 
been held sacred. This has enabled the genera- 
tions preceding us to accumulate wealth, and place 
the country in a condition greatly to our advan- 
tage. This principle of equal rights and equal 
privileges has allowed each generation to accumu- 
late wealth and advance Christian civilization for 
the next generation. This law of compensation 
not only equalizes the advantages between indi- 
viduals, but extends its benign influence among 
all nations, and through all time. 

The more we study the mutual relations be- 
tween capital and labor and the social problems 
of our day, the more we shall feel our obligations 



SOCIAL PROBLEMS. 57 

for the good we have received from those who 
have gone before us, and make us more generous 
and benevolent in the distribution of our labor 
and our wealth for the benefit of those who may 
come after us. 

It is a glorious thing to build up the temple of 
a true life; and in our character-building we 
should all realize that whatever promotes the 
public good promotes the good of each individual. 
When this spirit of fraternity is fully realized, men 
will live for each other as well as for themselves, 
and the laws and regulations of society will be 
respected. 

What is needed for the church and the state is 
a personal religious spirit, a yielding of our selfish 
feelings and interests for the good of others, a 
united effort to educate and train the minds of 
the people to moral and religious truths ; to har- 
monize our physical conditions to the necessities 
of this world, and our hearts and souls to the 
better world to come. Let all bow in submission 
to those whose right it is to rule, whether in the 
family, school, church, the State or nation, and 
strife and contention will cease, and we shall 
begin to realize something of the adoration and 
ultimate submission which will be paid to the 
Father of all by His redeemed family in heaven. 



THOUGHT IN RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 



There is in the hidden depths of every human 
heart an intuitive feeling that in the great invisi- 
ble is God, or some Power that is able to satisfy 
all our needs and all our aspirations. This feel- 
ing or intuition is the language of the soul, and 
must be the expression of an immanent spiritual 
light which God has implanted in every human 
being. 

All true religion is the manifestation of the 
spiritual light of God's image in man, and reveals 
itself out of the mysteries of life, and finds expres- 
sion in the joyous outbursts of the soul. Nothing 
can blot out the divine thought of the life that 
lies beyond the present. Independent of the dif- 
ference in civilization of the various nations of 
the earth, independent of all traditional dogmas, 
it strikes the deepest subsoil of human affection, 
and lights up in response to every ray of hope. 
It is this that makes Christianity valuable to all 
who love and reverence God, and aspire after a 
richer and a fuller life. It is thus we see the 

58 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 59 

hidden meaning wrought out in its relations to 
life here and in the great beyond. 

All true worship, all spiritual life and the hope 
of the future, come from this innate knowledge 
of God, as also the belief that man is the child of 
God, and that we as His children are endowed 
with faculties in the exercise of which we may 
look up to Him, and feel that He is indeed our 
Father. Without this conscious faith and feeling 
of trust in the Divine, we are indeed orphans. 

God has given to every human being by crea- 
tion an opportunity for the enjoyment of spiritual 
life, as St. John says, a "Light which lighteth 
every man that cometh into the world." All the 
mysteries of life and all true worship come from 
this spiritual light, or God's image in man, and are 
found among the most ignorant as well as among 
the most civilized nations. We all reap what we 
sow, and shall be judged by the use we make of 
this spiritual light, and not by our civilization 
or knowledge of the physical sciences. 

We have the Scriptures to aid us in our spirit- 
ual research, but it is the Christ spirit and not 
the letter of the law that maketh alive ; and unless 
the Scriptures are interpreted by spiritual light 
they cannot be properly understood or appreciated, 
and therefore cannot satisfy the human soul. 

Do not think that I wish to depreciate the 



60 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

importance of the efforts of missionaries to civilize 
and Christianize the heathen. Bnt do we gain 
anything in the religious controversies of our 
time by making prominent our church creeds, or 
by insisting that our Christian civilization is an 
essential part of our spiritual life ? It seems to 
me that the progress of the soul demands a larger 
field. Each individual soul, without regard to 
civilization or scientific attainments, must settle 
the great question of life for itself, and rise in the 
spirit realm of thought, as in the physical, by its 
own individual effort. It is not alone the historic 
Christ, but the glorified Christ, whom we need 
to-day, — the Christ spirit, and consciousness that 
this spirit exercises its regenerating power upon 
all who by faith and trust follow the Christ spirit 
in the soul, though they may be those we term 
uncivilized, and who ma}^ never have heard of the 
historic Christ, and also upon those who lived 
before Christ's advent into the world. 

The Christ spirit was in the world before Jesus 
was born, and his death did not take the Christ 
life from us. The mistake we make is in looking 
at the material or personal instead of the spiritual 
or impersonal. 

A feeling of dependence and a desire to wor- 
ship are inherent in the minds and hearts of the 
people of all nations. The pagan as well as 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 61 

Christian nations have formulated their God, and, 
I believe, have in some degree consecrated their 
lives to his worship. It is true that Christianity 
carries with it a civilization which is not found 
among pagan nations. 

Without being disloyal to the church, or sacrifi- 
cing any principle, can we not afford to exercise 
and express a larger faith, a greater spirit of har- 
mony, a feeling of Christian brotherhood, which 
will abolish the petty differences or sectarian feel- 
ings now existing among Christian sects, and in- 
spire a feeling that everything that belongs to 
human life belongs also to each individual ? The 
gospel of truth is so vast, so grand, and so far- 
reaching, that it cannot be confined to any local- 
ity, or subject to any physical condition in life, or 
confined to any degree of civilization. 

The heathen nations have no occasion to boast 
of their civilization ; but their souls may be filled 
with religious awe, and they have the guidance of 
that "Light that lighteth every man." They may 
not be able to give a scientific description of their 
God ; they may need in their worship the aid of 
images to direct their thoughts through nature up 
to nature's God, while church creeds and dogmas, 
stained glass windows and tall steeples, I fear, 
have to a certain extent become idols for the more 
cultivated Christian. 



62 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

The heathen nations need all our missionary 
efforts to Christianize and elevate their condition ; 
but as " God is no respecter of persons," and as 
each individual is worthy or unworthy according 
to his spiritual standing in the sight of God, who 
shall say that the worship of the ' one we call 
heathen may not be as pure and as acceptable in 
the sight of God as that of the Christian ? 

We all desire that truth that makes us free, 
however much Ave may differ in our methods in 
striving for it. Joy comes to the sensitive soul 
with the faintest whisperings of hope. At other 
times deep sorrow seems to almost overwhelm us 
with its dark pall. In this conflict of soul we 
sometimes shrink from the sympathy of others, 
and feel that — 

" The heart knoweth its own sorrow, 
And a stranger entereth not into its joys." 

The struggle of the soul to free itself from the 
bondage of the carnal mind is too sacred for the in- 
terference of others. Each individual soul has also 
its own peculiar way of discerning spiritual things. 
This is well illustrated by Whittier in his descrip- 
tion of the visit of Jesus to Mary and Martha. 

"When He who, sad and weary, longing sore 
For love's sweet service, sought the sisters' door, 
One saw the heavenly, one the human guest ; 
But who shall say which loved the Master best ? " 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 63 

Is it not time that we throw off class distinc- 
tions in society, and useless forms and ceremonies 
in the church, and appreciate more the true Chris- 
tian spirit, without regard to caste, culture, or civ- 
ilization ? A religious life and character are far 
more important than dogmas. 

The soul undeveloped in spiritual knowledge 
feels inadequate to cope with the realities of that 
life which opens before him. He feels his need 
of assistance or protection from some power be- 
yond his own. He is impelled to worship some- 
thing that he feels is above him, or the work of 
his own hands. The Indian worships the "Great 
Spirit." When the Israelites thought they had 
lost Moses, they made a " golden calf." The ten- 
dency to worship lies deep in the human heart ; 
and people will worship something tangible, some- 
thing that their physical senses can recognize, till 
they are educated in spiritual understanding, and 
look beyond forms and ceremonies, and are able 
to grasp in spirit the true and living God. 

It is very difficult for the human mind in its 
present undeveloped spiritual condition to compre- 
hend what is beyond the reach of the physical 
senses. It is by no means certain that the masses 
to-day do not need in their worship some external 
assistance. Many people feel that they can con- 
centrate their minds on the worship of God better 



64 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

in their church than elsewhere. If so, then the 
church is so far to them an assistant, an idol. I 
have no doubt that the heathen in their present 
condition need something to aid their concentra- 
tion of thought, and an image used for that special 
purpose becomes to them an important assistant in 
their devotions. The worshipping of idols is not 
confined to any locality or to any period of time. 
I apprehend the heathen are not the only people 
who see through a glass darkly. When we see 
face to face clearly we shall not require images nor 
idols of any kind, but grasp the spiritual without 
the aid of the material. 

People whose minds have not been enlightened 
by spiritual knowledge do not like to take the re- 
sponsibility of thinking for themselves in religious 
matters. It is much easier for the heathen to bow 
before their idols than to study and develop their 
spiritual nature for themselves. It is easier for 
people to adopt without study a creed, and rely 
upon the priest to explain the dogmas of the 
church they have chosen, than to take the respon- 
sibility of thinking for themselves. This lack of 
true thought and spiritual development in the soul 
of the individual tends to distort Christianity, 
and diminish the spirituality of the church. 

Far be it from me to detract from the good 
accomplished by the church in enlightening the 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 65 

conscience and purifying the thoughts and lives 
of the multitudes who come under its influence. I 
only wish to see the spiritual power so extended 
as to reach and enlighten the minds of all. But 
I fear that the creeds and dogmas which seem to 
fetter free individual thought, and cause people to 
rely more upon the interpretation of their pastor, 
are inadequate to meet the demands of the present 
age. We should not attempt to limit or establish 
a boundary to the human mind, but direct thought 
to the true spiritual nature of man and his rela- 
tion to his Maker. A feeling of personal respon- 
sibility, self-reliance, and independent thought is 
necessary to unfold our religious power, and de- 
velop true Christian manhood. 

The great difficulty in treating things of the 
spirit lies in the lack of spiritual education and 
spiritual discernment of the people, and also in 
not having language to express spiritual things. 
We know that our physical senses cannot be relied 
upon when we go beyond the realm of the physi- 
cal universe. We also realize the fact that in the 
study and discussion of subjects pertaining to the 
complex nature of man our language is very 
unsatisfactory when we go beyond the range of 
natural things. And yet we all know that God's 
image and God's man, made in his image, must be 
spiritual ; they are therefore beyond all physical 



66 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

tests or examinations by physical means. In 
these facts we find the mystery that surrounds 
the doctrines of Christ, which are all spiritual ; 
hence we see why our physical senses cannot ex- 
plain or account for the origin and power of 
things connected with spirit. 

With these facts before us we should not pre- 
sume by physical means to decide as to the divin- 
ity of Christ, or to analyze the principles of 
Christianity. Physical science has no standing in 
the realm of spirit, and cannot grapple with the 
spiritual order of the universe. We must there- 
fore look beyond the facts of our physical life for 
the true ideals or aspirations, out of which come 
the belief in God, and the ultimate triumphant 
destiny of the race. 

If human logic and the physical sciences afford 
no absolute satisfaction to the soul, we must out 
of the needs and the facts of our very existence 
reach above and beyond the physical, and allow 
our spiritual aspirations, which are stronger and 
deeper than anything the world can afford, to give 
us the unerring consciousness that we are to walk 
by spiritual faith, and not by physical sight. The 
exercise of this faith compels us to assume the 
Christian life as a part of our own real existence. 

In our present state of civilization we live in 
constant conflict with the physical as well as 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 67 

moral laws. We realize this fact by the conse- 
quences which follow their violation. 

God may have designed that we should use the 
powers of nature to propel our machinery and do 
our bidding. But, if we take the risk, we should 
not question God's providence when we suffer the 
consequence. We know that when we increase 
the pressure of steam in our boilers we subject 
ourselves to greater danger. When we ascend in 
a balloon, we make ourselves liable to come down 
in obedience to the law we have violated. By 
great pressure water is forced through our build- 
ings against the law of gravitation. But, as all 
the works of man are imperfect, the pipes in 
which the water is confined are liable to burst, 
and our dwellings to be flooded. The water, then, 
instead of serving us, becomes our master, and we 
suffer the consequences. 

All will remember the terrible disaster, or acci- 
dent as it was called, at Johnstown, Pa., a few 
years ago, by the breaking of the dam at the out- 
let of a lake where a large body of water had been 
kept back against the universal law of gravitation. 
The people had received great benefit as they 
thought in running their mills, but they paid the 
penalty. The dam gave way, the rush of water- 
overwhelmed and destroyed the city, and I think 
about four thousand lives were lost. 



68 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

We wonder at the providence of God in per- 
mitting such terrible disasters, little realizing the 
fact that they are the result of our own conduct. 
Shall we cast reproach upon our Maker because we 
reap what we have sown? Shall God suspend the 
laws of gravitation for " presumptive man " ? 

"When the loose mountain tumbles from on high, 
Shall gravitation cease if you go by ? " 

It is very difficult for us to reconcile such 
calamities with God's goodness and care. But 
we must remember that in the great variety 
of God's laws each may have its own penalty. 
And yet from our standpoint it is difficult to un- 
derstand how God in his wisdom can allow the 
good and virtuous to suffer by such disasters, or 
the virtuous poor to starve for the want of food 
in a land of plenty. 

" But sometimes virtue starves while vice is fed. 
What then ? Is the reward of virtue bread ? 
That vice may merit; 'tis the price of toil. 
The knave deserves it when he tills the soil." 

A prominent writer in one of our popular maga- 
zines says, "There is a very true and serious 
sense in which alcoholism is a disease, and in 
which sensuality in all its varieties is a good deal 
more a matter of body than it is of heart. Con- 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 69 

siderable of what used to be known as wicked- 
ness pure and simple is coming to be referred to 
the body, and recognized as bodily defects or 
bodily degeneracy." This involves the question 
of human accountability, which I supposed was 
settled in the minds of most persons. It has gen- 
erally been considered that the man God created 
in His own image must be spiritual, and the essen- 
tial and responsible part of our complex nature. 
We have good authority for believing that the 
physical body is mortal, and it is generally be- 
lieved that the spirit is immortal ; if so, I do not 
see how they can share the responsibility. There 
cannot be two responsible captains upon the same 
ship at the same time. If the physical alone is 
the controlling factor, and responsible for all our 
waywardness, if the spirit is dependent entirely 
upon the physical, which must soon decay, there 
is no ground left for moral law, and our hopes for 
existence after the death of the body rest upon a 
frail foundation. 

Shall we accept this doctrine of Physical Su- 
premacy, and relinquish our hope of an eternal 
spiritual existence? No, a thousand times no. 
Christ says, " I am the light of the world ; he that 
believeth in me shall never die." Christ must 
here refer to the spirit, and not to the body. It 
seems to me that if we were created in God's 



70 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

image we must be spiritual ; and this inspires a 
feeling or aspiration after God, and an intuitive 
knowledge that we are moral beings, and responsi- 
ble to our Maker for the proper use of the talents 
given us. 

If the mind or spirit of man is essential, and the 
controlling factor, or, as I believe, is the real man, 
the spirit must be responsible ; for no moral wrong 
or criminal act can be perpetrated without the 
consent of the mind and will, and such consent 
involves the moral nature. 

The physical defects which often result from 
hereditary law, and physical defects from accident, 
or those incidental to old age, are the only defects 
of which we have any knowledge. If the spirit 
or real man does not have proper organs through 
which to manifest itself, it is no proof that the 
spirit itself is impaired by such physical defects. 
The spirit is not dependent upon physical organs 
for its existence, but only for its power to mani- 
fest itself in physical organisms. The real spirit 
of man is not dependent upon the eye for seeing, 
nor the ear for hearing. " In God we live, move, 
and have our being." We see, study, and under- 
stand all moral and religious subjects with the mind, 
and not with the material eye. We live in the 
spirit, and never use the material senses except in 
the study and examination of material things. 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 71 

The complex action of body and mind is well 
illustrated in the following incident: A little 
Sabbath-school girl came to one of my former 
pastors, and asked him to explain the difference 
between mind and body. " My dear child," said 
the doctor, "that is a metaphysical question 
which has agitated the greatest scholars all the 
centuries. However, I will try to make you un- 
derstand. Suppose I strike you a blow on your 
head, what then?" — "You will hurt me." — "Me, 
what do you mean?" — "Why, hurt my body, I 
suppose." — " Now, suppose I say, Blanche, you 
are a naughty girl." Her eyes flashed, the tears 
began to fall. " What is the matter ; I have not 
touched your body." — " Oh, but you hurt me so." 
— " What do you mean by me ? " — " Oh, I see, I 
see ; you touched my mind by simply saying some- 
thing." We perceive how separate mind and 
body are when we hear or read a sentence that 
will cause grief, sadness, ay, pain. 

Some have taken the ground that if man does 
wrong, while God is not directly responsible for 
not preventing him from doing the wrong, He will 
in some way excuse him from the responsibility. 
If such logic is tenable, and is to become the 
standard of moral action, if drunkenness, sensu- 
ality, and all social evils and crimes, are purely 
physical acts, the spirit man certainly cannot be 



72 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

held responsible for the consequences. When we 
relinquish our moral accountability, and treat all 
our crimes as physical diseases, we may release 
our clergymen from further duty, convert our 
churches into hospitals, and give ourselves into 
the hands of the doctors of medicine. 

I believe there is an intuitive feeling in every 
human soul that man is in some way culpable for 
his wrong act; that physical deformity or the 
depravity of the human heart cannot excuse us 
from the claims of the gospel, and our duty to 
God and our fellow-men. 

If we have inherited physical inharmonious con- 
ditions, which render our approach to God more 
difficult, our individual conflicts with the world 
more trying, we must exercise more faith ; for God 
has given to every one who will accept his offer 
an opportunity when, by the power of his own 
will and " promised grace," he may be redeemed 
and saved from the effects of all such apparently 
unfavorable conditions. However obscure our 
spiritual discernment, the love of God is able to 
enkindle in our hearts a divine light which will 
show us the true spiritual meaning of life and 
duty, and dispel much of the mystery which is 
supposed to surround the Christian religion. 

In our time, the tendency is to make gods of 
Culture, Civilization, and Sociology. As gods, 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 73 

they are mighty, but they are not Almighty ; and 
we shall find, if they are worshipped as gods, and 
have not the gospel of peace for their foundation, 
they will lead their followers into the wilderness 
of doubt, and impel them into the gulf of material- 
ism. The teachings of Christ are all spiritual, 
and so are the aspirations after God which come 
welling up from the depths of every living soul. 
This intuition, or language of soul, is the true 
light, and deals directly with the spirit of man. 
It is the literature and the science of the soul; 
it is the philosophy and the logic of the spirit, and 
the language in which the soul of man alone can 
read the truth of eternal life. This is the doctrine 
which Christ taught, the creed by which he lived, 
the light by which he sought to show man how 
to live in the spirit, and to be elevated to the 
plane of thought on which man was created, and 
on which he should live to-day. 

It has been shown that each individual is an 
important factor in society ; that good society 
depends upon the goodness of the individuals 
composing it. We have also found that 

SOCIALISM 

upon a material basis is impracticable, if not im- 
possible. By socialism we mean an equal dis- 
tribution of all human products among all men. 



74 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

This proposition to divide may seem plausible 
to some, especially to such as have no ambition 
to provide for themselves ; but it is easy to see 
that the equality of right which we now all pos- 
sess would be destroyed in our effort to establish 
equality of condition. God, who creates all 
things, is infinite in all his works. He creates 
in infinite variety, and never duplicates anything. 
Everything is created with equal rights, but the 
conditions are endless in their variety. The trees 
which constitute the forest all have equal rights 
to the sunshine and the rain, equal liberty to 
grow, and yet their conditions are very different. 
No one proposes to divide the strength of the 
oak with the sapling, and make all trees equal 
in condition as in their rights. 

The same endless variety in conditions exists 
everywhere ; and I repeat, that an equal division 
of the products of man's industry, without regard 
to the rightful claim of such industry, would not 
only destroy the equality of rights, but it would 
destroy all incentive to labor. There would be 
no object in accumulating wealth ; there would be 
no money to support our government, our public 
system of education, or our higher institutions of 
learning ; and the stagnation which must follow 
would soon turn the civilization of the world 
back toward barbarism. 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 75 

" He who will not work shall not eat " is the 
great law of love, aimed at inactivity, God's only 
cure for laziness. Men who will not labor with 
brain or muscle may vegetate, but can hardly be 
said to live. It is true that people may maintain 
a sort of existence on the earth in a barbarous or 
semi-barbarous state without great exertion. But 
it requires great energy, great industry with both 
brain and muscle, and a large amount of money, 
to support a high state of civilization. 

Of course the aged and constitutionally weak 
have a special claim upon our sympathy and upon 
our common care. The distribution of all things 
to the weak and unfortunate must be made by the 
inspiration of love, and not under the constraint 
of laws. Any civic or legal measure to equalize 
human conditions would result in the destruction 
of the incentive and power of production, and no 
less in the final extinction of human sentiments, 
involving humanity itself. 

If in a spiritual plane socialism means an equal 
distribution of virtues and Christian graces, it 
would be equally impossible, and radically so, as 
division of virtues would be more difficult than 
division of property. Nothing so harms any 
human being as receiving something for nothing. 
An equivalent should be rendered, more for the 
good of the recipient than for the good of the 



76 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

giver. This equivalent may be given in heartfelt 
thanks, in service, or substance. 

I think the conscious love of Christ in the heart, 
filling the whole being with wisdom and guid- 
ance, is the only agency that will accord to every 
man equality of rights, not under law, but under 
love, and thus meet the necessities of all men 
without destroying their manhood. Self-help, 
aside from God's help, is the best help a man can 
have, and then he will not be helped into helpless- 
ness. Actuated by the love of God, we would 
help men as God helps them, in their extremity ; 
that is, when they have done their best, and come 
to their extremity by doing their best. Man's ex- 
tremity is God's opportunity ; and it is ours, who 
desire to be godly. 

Notwithstanding all these varied facts in human 
life, there is a sense in which government and so- 
ciety owe something to the individual. When a 
man yields what he terms his personal rights for 
the good of society, he feels that he is entitled to 
claim a share of the mutual benefit which belongs 
to such society. This claim of the individual is 
really received in the protection and the enjoy- 
ment of good society. But I do not see how any 
one can claim from government, church, or any 
social compact, more of temporal or spiritual good 
than he is willing to contribute to its support. 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 77 

The good we receive from society in its associate 
capacity should be held in trust as really belong- 
ing to humanity. 

It is true that there seems to be interwoven in 
man's nature a selfish feeling, a seeming conscious- 
ness of his being his own ; and it is very difficult, 
from a material standpoint, to understand how 
each man's personality can be his own, and he still 
owe himself and all he is to his fellow-men and to 
his Creator. This apparent difficulty can be un- 
derstood only when we consider the subject from 
a spiritual standpoint ; but as we are all essen- 
tially spiritual, it is only from the spiritual plane 
of thought that we can view anything connected 
with our true nature and our relations to our 
Maker. We are commanded to " love our neigh- 
bor as ourselves." This command is rendered 
possible only as we yield our selfish feeling, and 
realize that our neighbor is an organic part with 
us of the infinity of spiritual existence. When 
we realize this fact, we shall begin to understand 
the import of Christ's commandment, and come 
into the divine realization of the Fatherhood of 
God and the brotherhood of man. 

Are such attainments beyond the reach of man? 
St. Paul says, " The carnal mind is enmity against 
God; for it is not subject to the laws of God, 
neither indeed can be." Neither is it subject to 



78 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

human law ; it is in a state of selfish rebellion 
against all law. We may confine the condemned 
criminal, but that does not change his moral 
nature. The human heart is selfish and depraved, 
and does not love God or its neighbor ; and in this 
selfish condition we cannot come into peaceful re- 
lationship with ourselves or with our God. It is 
therefore evident that without a change from car- 
nality to spirituality, it is impossible to form a 
government, or to organize a society, that can have 
sufficient control over the depravity of the human 
heart and the human will to preserve harmony, 
even among its own members. 

Let us make no mistake here ; God makes law, 
and everything that does not harmonize with this 
unerring law tends to dissonance and disorder. 
It is not God's law, but the violation of the law, 
that produces the discord. If man would cease to 
violate God's law, he would find a remedy for this 
dissonant and discordant nature. St. John says, 
" He that loveth his brother abideth in the light." 
This is a spiritual light which God has implanted, 
and is in harmony with his law. If man would 
follow this light, it would, by the grace of God, 
lead him to a higher and a better life. 

Thinking Christians recognize this light, and 
believe that there is an abiding faith and power in 
this spiritual law as exemplified by Christ. Chris- 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 79 

tians look to " Jesus of Nazareth" as the perfect 
revealer of this truth. They accept the character 
of Christ as the transcendent fact of history ; and 
all the demonstrations of his doctrine evince an 
ever operative spiritual law, holding all humanity 
in its loving embrace. We believe in the ultimate 
power of the Christ-spirit to destroy sin and death, 
because Christ demonstrated it. The practical 
and universal acceptance of the Christ-spirit would 
liberate us from all the mental and moral ills 
which now distract our minds, and render our 
lives and society so discordant. St. Paul says, 
"The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath 
made me free from the law of sin and death." 
Who shall question the experience of St. Paul, or 
deny the power of this spiritual law of Christ to 
change our carnality to spirituality, and who shall 
say that its influence is not within the reach of 
all ? And if all would accept it, which is their im- 
perative duty, what I have claimed as possible for 
man would at once become a realized fact. 
The preaching of the gospel in the 

CHURCH 

is no doubt more scientific and learned than for- 
merly; but may it not be so complex and schol- 
arly as to be beyond the comprehension of the 
masses? People generally have not studied theol- 



80 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

ogy, and see little if any good in the creeds and 
dogmas of the church. If the church is to encom- 
pass the masses, and bring the people into the fold 
of Christ, it must embrace a larger field of obser- 
vation, and broaden its influence so as to control 
the tendency of the people to drift into various 
organizations, and multiply theatres, club-houses, 
and fraternities, which are becoming rivals of the 
church, and dividing the attention of the masses. 
People now act more in their associated capacity, 
which gives them a feeling of independence. 
They are therefore harder to reach and more diffi- 
cult to control. Relatively there may not be so 
large a portion of the people attending public wor- 
ship to-day as formerly, and I think it is true that 
our churches do not now retain the same potent 
influence over the thoughts and minds of the 
masses outside the fold of the church as in times 
past. 

Fifty years ago, it was a bold man who would 
venture to call in question the tenets of the 
church, or to criticise any of its sacred rights. 
Now they handle the most sacredly guarded 
themes without mercy, and seem to think that 
nothing is too sacred for their discussion or their 
criticism. 

We all need the refining influence of the 
church to build up character and to keep alive the 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 81 

spiritual aspirations of the soul, and prevent us 
from falling into a state of indifference upon re- 
ligious subjects. To supply this need the church 
must go to the people, if the people will not go to 
the church. This may seem a little humiliating 
to the high-cultured people of our aristocratic 
churches. But is it not in accordance with the 
practice as well as the teachings of the Master? 
God has for some wise purpose placed us in diver- 
sified conditions ; but he has given us all equal 
rights to all his blessings, and it certainly cannot 
be wrong for the children of " Our Father which 
art in Heaven" to meet together to glorify "His 
Name." 

We live in a peculiar age. A feeling of unrest 
and religious discontent seems to pervade the en- 
tire world. People are dissatisfied with their 
social, moral, and religious condition. A species 
of worldliness, or materialism, seems to have 
absorbed the human mind, till the masses have 
become irreligious in their thoughts and feelings ; 
and much of the worship in our churches has 
become little better than formal in its influence 
upon the minds and hearts of the non-churchgoing 
public. 

With all these irreligious thoughts dominating 
our lives, our streets lined with drinking-saloons 
and other places of social vice, our bookstores 



82 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

containing vile, if not obscene literature, our pub- 
lic lectures filled with rose-colored illustrations 
too intense for sober facts, our sermons highly 
embellished to satisfy a large class, our people in 
a state of social upheaval, it almost seems that 
the world is in danger of sinking into the gulf of 
materialism. This peril is made more apparent 
when Ave call to mind the fact that all the disas- 
ters which have befallen our race in the past 
have been the result of the thoughts of the peo- 
ple turning from God, and indulging in unholy 
desires and sinful practices. 

In order to meet these complicated difficulties 
which confront us, we must improve our habit of 
thought ; for we know that impure thoughts and 
unholy desires lead to irreligious, immoral conduct 
and criminal acts. It may be unwise for me to 
dwell so much upon the influence of our thoughts ; 
but I believe that our neglect at this vital point is 
one of the radical defects in our mode of warfare, 
and the real cause of our want of success, in our 
efforts to civilize and Christianize the world. 

As advocates of our religion, we have perhaps 
done the best we could to Christianize and spirit- 
ualize the world ; and yet the results are far from 
being satisfactory. It is true that we have wit- 
nessed wonderful advances in religious thought as 
well as in the arts and sciences. It is also true 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 83 

that evil habits, social vices, and crimes have in- 
creased ; and with all onr moral influences, includ- 
ing church and missionary work, it may be still 
an open question whether immorality in its gen- 
eral aspect has not a stronger grasp and a more 
demoralizing influence upon the civilized world 
to-day than ever before. 

We find only about one-half the people attend- 
ing church service of any kind ; the other half 
receiving very little, if any, religious instruction. 
What a field for Christian work lies before us ! 
Truly the harvest is great. Hundreds of thou- 
sands of people within our reach, created in God's 
image, are hungering and thirsting for the spirit- 
ual knowledge which the gospel of Christ offers 
free to the world. I cannot believe that the mil- 
lions of people would continue in mental and 
moral darkness if they were properly instructed in 
the things of the Spirit, and knew that God is 
their Father, and that in their "Father's house" 
there is spiritual food enough and to spare. 
Neither do I believe that the tens of thousands 
who attend church occasionally, and have heard 
something of the gospel of truth, would be con- 
tent to imbibe the unhealthy mixtures that are 
being poured out over our land, if they knew 
where they could obtain the unadulterated gospel 
of our loving Saviour. 



84 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

The enlightened conscience will not choose 
darkness rather than light. Ignorance is not bliss, 
and can never satisfy the spiritual cravings of the 
human soul. If the masses have been wrongly 
educated, and have allowed their thoughts to 
wander from God and the true aims of life, they 
have no less claim upon our sympathy and upon 
our love. The education which the masses have 
received does not extend beyond the physical 
sciences. They have been taught to depend for 
knowledge upon their material senses. Upon this 
material plane of thought they are not in a con- 
dition to readily grasp spiritual truth. 

To reach the masses ignorant of their spiritual 
nature, and plunged deeply into the gulf of mate- 
rialism, it will be necessary to appeal to their 
spiritual natures, and show them that their 
troubled souls, through the gospel, may be brought 
into harmony with their Creator. 

This simple gospel, presented in the spirit of 
love and sympathy, has power to create a Chris- 
tian atmosphere that will dispel their materialism, 
and change their mode of thought from the mate- 
rial or carnal mind to that of the spiritual. They 
will then not only attend church, but devotedly 
join in the songs of redeeming grace and heavenly 
love. 

The interpretations of Christ's life and character 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 85 

are all spiritual; and by following his teaching 
and the language of his spirit in the demonstra- 
tion of its power, all the events of life are made 
spiritual, and all the heritage of the universe be- 
comes ours. But to gain this exalted condition 
we must overcome our material thoughts, and, in 
the spirit of the Master, grow into the Christ-life. 
Our wills will then be dominated by his will, and 
his spirit will find incarnate expression in our lives. 

Do our preachers spiritualize the good things 
of the world, and make them enjoyable with spir- 
itual life ? St. Paul says (1 Cor. ii. 4), his 
"preaching was not with enticing words of man's 
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and 
of power." Who to-day preaches in the demon- 
stration of the Spirit and in the power, "healing 
the sick, and casting out evil," as Christ did, and 
as he commanded his disciples to do, which com- 
mand they obeyed ? He also gave assurance that 
the same power should attend them that believed. 

Is it not true that many of our clergymen to- 
day, who claim to preach the gospel of Christ, 
deny the power thereof, and in their daily walk 
and conversation say to the world that Christ 
did not expect that we should live up to his 
standard ; that he did not intend that we should 
demonstrate as he and his immediate followers did ? 

If Christ did not intend his gospel for the 



86 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

present day and for all time, why preach it at 
all ? If the clergy do not preach Christ's gospel 
in its fnlness, how can they expect people to be 
interested enough to fill onr churches ? A scien- 
tific sermon that denies the demonstration and 
the power of the gospel will never satisfy a human 
soul hungering and thirsting for the living God. 
Lanterns that give light only where the sun of 
material science shines are of little service to 
those whose spirits are lost in doubt and per- 
plexity. 

I believe much of the power and spirit of the 
gospel is lost because the preachers do not make 
the gospel plain and simple, so as to be under- 
stood by the masses. 

Placing spiritual food above their reach may 
be a reason why people do not more generally 
attend such services. And yet I think people 
express with more freedom their convictions of 
religious truth ; and in this way we are getting 
much helpful light that was formerly shut out by 
the rigid creeds and dogmas which at one time 
forbade free inquiry pertaining to religious experi- 
ences. Creeds, dogmas, and theories of the church 
have been greatly modified; but they are still 
stumbling-blocks to the masses, because they are 
not understood or appreciated, and therefore tend 
to prevent the multitude from attending church, 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 87 

or paying that respect which the church ought to 
be able to command. 

I may have given too much prominence to the 
unfavorable influence of creeds. They may with- 
in certain limits serve a purpose. A man's creed 
is his belief, and any number of persons may for- 
mulate an agreement or creed by which they will 
be governed. But if they go outside the Bible for 
their creeds, they tend to division. Every man 
has a belief; and if he chooses to formulate it in 
words other than are found in the Bible, such 
formulation becomes his creed ; and as all persons 
have the same right to formulate creeds for them- 
selves, we would have as many creeds as there are 
individuals. 

Creeds found in the Bible give to everyone a 
freedom of thought and action which leads to a 
high plane of spiritual life, that harmonizes with 
all who believe in the Bible, and formulate their 
creed only in the language of Scripture. Peter's 
creed was his answer to Christ, " Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God." Martha's 
creed was, " Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art 
the Christ, the Son of God, which should come 
into the world." Philip and the eunuch had a 
similar creed. 

Creeds or beliefs confined to the Scriptures tend 
to unite all believers in the Bible. Creeds formu- 



88 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

lated upon language outside of the Bible separate 
Christians into various denominations, and give 
sanction to people not in the Christian church to 
formulate creeds or beliefs for themselves, with- 
out regard to the Scriptures. The more we study 
and depend upon man-made creeds, the less we 
study and depend upon God's word, and the 
more license we give to those who do not ac- 
knowledge the Scripture as the rule of life. 

The principles involved in the Christian religion 
have become associated with so many different 
sects with apparently conflicting creeds, that the 
minds of the people are confused, and do not get 
a clear idea or understanding of the simple truths 
of the gospel. The masses outside the church are 
therefore entitled to some consideration. They 
seem to think — and not without some reason — 
that the churches with creeds and dogmas which 
they do not comprehend are too exclusive for the 
common people ; that they were intended for the 
favored few, and not for the whole. 

Caste in society, and style in living, have be- 
come so emphasized as to separate people from 
each other, and cause many to look upon our aris- 
tocratic churches as pharisaical. The formalities 
of 

CASTE AND CREED 

have become so prominent in society, that the 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 89 

common people feel almost excluded from such 
churches. The expression of this sentiment has 
caused people in different conditions in life, not 
only to avoid the churches, but to antagonize the 
Christian religion. It does not require a prophet 
to see that with such feelings and thoughts occu- 
pying their minds, the people will not attend our 
churches. A large portion of this multitude of 
unprivileged people are eager for the truth, and, 
thinking over the social and religious problems of 
the day, find they are in a state of dissatisfaction 
with themselves, with mankind, and with their 
Maker. To find means to bring such people into 
proper Christian fellowship is what is needed to- 
day. St. John says, " If we walk in the light, 
as he [Christ] is in the light, we have fellowship 
one with another" (1 John 7). 

The time has come when something should be 
done to adapt the existing creeds, and adjust the 
modes of worship, to the condition of the people 
now outside the churches. The feeling of pride 
and caste which has been manifested by the 
wealthy, and the neglect which has been shown 
by our aristocratic churches, have created such a 
gulf between them and the masses, that the peo- 
ple in their present condition will not attend 
these high-toned services. I like to see elegant 
churches. I only wish we had enough of them 



90 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

to accommodate the whole people, and that they 
would all attend such beautiful churches and feel 
happy. It is only the idolatry connected with 
such churches that is wrong. I do not say that 
people worship the edifices, but there is a feeling 
among the common people that they are not made 
for their use. 

It is evident that such churches must make 
some concessions before they can reach the masses. 
I am not prepared to say what compromise should 
be offered. I remember an incident that occurred 
many years ago in a country town, where it was 
common for children to go with their feet bare 
during the summer months, except when they 
went church. 

There were several families who were too poor 
to purchase shoes for their children, and so they 
did not attend church. The minister, not being 
able to purchase shoes for them, had his own chil- 
dren attend church with their feet bare. The 
sacrifice was accepted, and the poor children at- 
tended church and Sabbath-school with bare feet 
and were happy. 

Is it not the duty of the Christian church to 
make some concessions to these classes of people, 
or prepare suitable places of worship, and with 
the love of God in their hearts, and a Christian 
atmosphere about them, preach to them the simple 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 91 

gospel, appealing to their better nature — to that 
light which God has implanted in every human 
being ? 

Simple truth is the supreme force that moves 
the world; and I believe the hearts of the multi- 
tude would kindle in ready response to such a 
presentation of a simple gospel that will enable 
them to throw off the bondage of sin, and rise to 
a higher and a better life. 

I do not say that we need a new or a better 
gospel. But I do think that its presentation 
should be better adapted to the present mode of 
thought and the condition of the masses. While 
the truth of the gospel is ever the same, its pre- 
sentation may be given from different points. 
The world has grown in the last fifty years. The 
principle of locomotion is, and always will be, the 
same ; yet people prefer the express-train of to- 
day to the old stage-coach of fifty years ago. The 
principle of communication is, and always will be, 
the same ; yet people to-day prefer to use the tele- 
phone and the telegraph. What I want to empha- 
size, is the fact that the wonderful revolution in 
the scientific and business world during the last 
fifty years has not been shared by the church in 
her methods of reaching and controlling the 
thoughts and minds of the masses. 

I see no reason why the church should not in- 



92 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

stitute an aggressive movement, that shall admin- 
ister aid to the people in every condition of life. 
I see no reason why gospel truth, though ever the 
same, should not be presented in a manner suited 
to the times in which we live, and the varied con- 
ditions in which we find people to-day. Princi- 
ples never change, but modes of expressing them 
must change with the changing methods of the 
revolving years. 

Let the Christian world consider these sugges- 
tions, and see if they cannot devise some way of 
presenting gospel truth so as to conform to the 
present development of the race, and to be com- 
prehended by the common people. 

We have noticed that the good which a church 
ought to accomplish in a community is always 
neutralized when there is internal division among 
its members. May it not be equally true that the 
division of Christ's church into so many denomi- 
nations neutralizes its power and its influence over 
the minds and hearts of the masses? May not 
the divisions of our churches, burdened as they 
are by so many creeds and dogmas misunderstood 
by the people, be the reason why so many turn 
away from the churches in disgust, and fall into 
infidelity ? 

If it is true that our churches are agreed upon 
all essential doctrines, and divide only upon the 



BELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 93 

non-essential, or npon subjects that are not under- 
stood, and entirely of human speculation; if the 
failure of the churches to answer the reasonable 
expectations of the people, and to command the 
respect of the masses, is the result of divisions 
upon subjects of human vision only, — I see no 
good reason why all Christian churches should not 
abandon their literal creeds and speculative the- 
ories, and unite upon the fundamental and eter- 
nal principles of the gospel. In union there is 
strength; and the power of such a union would 
awaken unusual interest throughout Christendom, 
and kindle each heart into a holy flame. St. John 
declares, "He that loveth truth cometh to the 
light." 

The church could lose nothing by giving up all 
speculative theories connected with creeds. The 
people recognize the fact that there is no Christian- 
ity in sectarianism. Lovers of God and followers 
of Christ must have perfect unity, and the bond 
of union must be one of faith and love. If the 
bond of faith and love binds the church to Christ, 
it will also bind the churches to each other. Let 
us abandon all non-essentials that tend to divide 
Christians. 

"For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight; 
His can't be wrong whose life is in the right." 

The forms of worship associated with man-made 



94 THOUGHTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 

creeds do not satisfy the human soul. Religious 
thought and the longings of the spirit have be- 
come a powerful factor in our religious life, and 
demand a more harmonious and a higher meaning 
in our religious worship. The clear rays of spir- 
itual thought have already pierced the darkness, 
and modified the feeling of persecution which was 
so pronounced in the early history of the church. 
John Quincy Adams, President of the United 
States, when asked to subscribe to the fund of 
the Foreign Missionary Societ}', said : " We have 
here in our village [Quincy, Mass., the home 
of the Adamses] four religious societies. The 
sectarian feeling is so strong that the pastors of 
these societies are not allowed to exchange pulpits 
with each other. I will give as much and more 
than any other man to civilize and Christianize 
these ministers and the people, so that we can 
have Christian fellowship in our own village." 

This anti-Christian feeling is passing away, and 
it is not uncommon to-da}^ for clergymen of differ- 
ent denominations to exchange pulpits. I believe 
the time will soon come when the partition walls 
between different denominations of Christians will 
be removed, and all unite in pseans of grateful 
praise and glory to God. 

The water of the globe is one great sea, and is 
moved by one tide. If the immortal soul or spirit 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 95 

of humanity would unite in the universal truth of 
God, and, like the ocean, move in union and har- 
mony, universal love would rule the world, and 
evil would find no resting-place. 

The open fold of God's truth is greater than 
we can comprehend, but the realization of this fact 
should not diminish our faith and our aspiration 
after God ; it should rather make us modest, and 
tolerant of the opinions of others. God's right- 
eousness, which we are commanded to seek first, is 
sufficient for us. Creeds and theories may serve 
a purpose, but should not be allowed to prevent 
unity of feeling and action between Christian 
churches. I speak thus freely, for I believe that 
church divisions, and the contentions growing out 
of them, not only prevent many true Christians 
from uniting with the church, but hinder the 
masses from paying that respect which is due 
to the church of Christ, and which the world 
would gladly pay, were the church a unit, and 
its members living in the spirit and power of the 



The gospel of Christ has proved itself capable 
of helping all sorts and all conditions of human 
society, and a united church should loudly pro- 
claim its saving power. The Master says, " I am 
the light of the world, and whosoever believeth in 
me shall not abide in darkness." 



96 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

It is the light of the gospel that must dispel the 
doubt and darkness of the human mind. If we 
have the light of this gospel in our hearts, it will 
be a light to those about us. A candle does not 
shine for its own benefit. All that is luminous in 
us is given to direct others as well as ourselves. 
A professor in Harvard College, being asked if he 
thought God who is holy could see evil, said, " It 
would be like an electric light going after a 
shadow, and expecting to find it." Light cannot 
see darkness, neither can purity see impurity. 
Darkness is destroyed by light. So evil vanishes 
before pure thought and divine light. " Thou art 
of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not 
look on iniquity" (Hab. i. 13). 

We should study and try to better understand 
ourselves and our relations to our Maker, and not 
be diverted from the great object of life by argu- 
ments, creeds, or opinions of men. The 

GREAT FACTS 

which lie behind and beyond the creeds and theo- 
ries about which men dispute are what is wanted, 
and not the creeds and theories themselves. God's 
truth is greater than all human speculation ; and 
we should not depend for our beliefs upon any 
outward conditions, or allow anything to interfere 
with our direct communion with God our Father, 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 97 

but should, so far as we can, live in the spirit, and 
" dwell under the shadow of the Almighty." 

We need pure thoughts and holy desires to give 
us power in our work for humanity. It is not 
merely what a man speaks ; it is the Christ-spirit 
behind the words that gives them power. If the 
love of God is in our hearts, it will give our words 
power, and we shall by our words and our acts 
declare the truth of the gospel. We have every- 
thing to encourage us in this work. The gospel 
is what the world needs. The outburst of joy 
from the human heart in all nations and all peo- 
ples shows the wonderful love of God to man. 
The parable of the lost sheep — in fact, the whole 
trend of the Scriptures — shows that God loves the 
whole human race ; it proves that there is some- 
thing worth loving, even in the most degraded. 
Our Saviour says, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto 
one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it 
unto me." It shows that God has implanted in 
every human soul a desire or aspiration for a 
heavenly light, — a desire for something better, 
for a purer and a holier life. 

It seems to me that the Christ-spirit, through 
the influence of a united church, might reach and 
answer to the holy desires and aspirations of the 
people, and by promised grace change their minds 
and thoughts from the carnal to the spiritual. 



98 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

The reception of the gospel by the masses would 
not only direct their minds heavenward, but en- 
able them to control their appetites, passions, and 
all sinful habits, and restore peace and harmony to 
society, and prevent the misery and degradation 
which now hold in bondage the great mass of the 
people of the world. 

Wealth, position, and the pride of life, deter 
people from consecrating their lives and their sub- 
stance to God for the good of humanity. People 
are frequently found who maintain outwardly a 
consistent religious life, and apparently do their 
duty to society, who, from some cause, fail to im- 
press the Christ-spirit upon those about them. 
The young lawyer was so circumspect that Christ 
loved him, and yet he was not right on the ques- 
tion of riches. Job was a just man. He was a 
prosperous man. He had gained his riches hon- 
estly, as the world goes, and had tried to persuade 
himself that they belonged to himself alone, and 
so had not consecrated them to humanity. But 
there came a time when he realized that his riches 
were given him in trust, and really belonged to 
God and humanity. When he became conscious 
of this fact, he humbled himself. He had long 
known that he would have to come to this point 
of self-nothingness ; for he says, " The thing that I 
feared has come upon me." Had Job consecrated 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 99 

himself and his riches, and been in perfect oneness 
with God, he wonld not have been afraid of being 
brought low. Fear is but another name for a want 
of confidence in God. " Perfect love casteth out 
fear." 

I apprehend that we are not to-day free from 
idols of some kind, and it may be the same with 
our churches. They are rich and prosperous, and 
the world thinks they exhibit more or less pride 
and vanity. But pride must have its fall, whether 
in the individual or in the church, and come down 
as Job did, before the world will be conquered 
for Christ. The hearts of all true Christians must 
beat in unison with the great heart of God and 
the world of mankind. 

The evangelical churches, I believe, agree upon 
all essential questions. I have been trying to see 
if I could find any good reason why they should 
not unite. I do not propose to go into the past, 
or consider the various causes which resulted in 
their separation. I only wish to discover, if I can, 
what prevents our churches to-day from uniting. 
It seems to me that it is to a large extent the 
"worship of idols," — wealth, worldly ambition, 
perhaps a little pride and vanity. But I feel quite 
sure that the partitions between Christian churches 
are not composed of " pure Christianity," and 
therefore may be removed without endangering 



100 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

the foundation of our Christian religion. The 
factions into which Christian people and Christian 
churches are divided, and the feeling which they 
often exhibit, are not animated by the love of 
Christ or love of Christianity, in any true sense. 
I think Christians are kept from uniting by the 
influence of those who may have reached, and 
who are unwilling for the sake of union to yield, 
their high positions in their own church ; by those 
who have pride and vanity as idols in their hearts ; 
by those who have never conformed to the Divine 
Spirit, or become absorbed in the oneness and all- 
ness of God. 

A similar condition of affairs is often found in 
the political arena. A few ambitious or designing 
men often disturb the peace and harmony of a 
party, State, or nation. A divided church can 
never be secure from the assaults of the enemy. 
The only effectual Avay to stop the warfare is to 
conquer a peace by uniting for Christ and over- 
coming the world. 

Let me give an illustration of the weakness of 
a divided church. Suppose these United States 
were not united as a nation, but each State acted 
independent and alone : they would exert little or 
no power or influence in the world, but would be 
at the mercy of any or every foreign power. It is 
the union that gives us peace and protection at 



BELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 101 

home, and power and influence among the nations 
of the earth. 

Let all Christian denominations discard their 
creeds and dogmas which now separate them, and 
unite for Christ, and I believe the powers of dark- 
ness will flee before the light of a united pres- 
entation of the gospel of truth. 

We cannot have organic unity till we have 
unity of thought, till we become Christian enough 
to have our thoughts centre upon Christ, and abide 
in his love. When we arrive at this point in 
spiritual development, we shall not need the letter 
as expressed in organic churches and societies ; for 
we shall be one in Christ in the unity of spirit, in 
the bond of peace. 

There is another point upon which I have a 
word to say. When a small suburb of a city, or 
a country village, shows signs of growth and en- 
terprise, some one of our Christian denominations 
forms a society, and builds a small house of wor- 
ship. This is commendable. But before there 
are inhabitants enough to fill the house, some 
other denomination forms a society, and builds 
another place of worship ; and it often happens 
that we have two or three small churches in a 
location where there are scarcely enough church- 
going people to fill one. As a result, we have 
thousands of small, weak churches all over the 



102 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

land, which really exert very little influence upon 
the minds and hearts of the people outside of the 
membership of the churches. There is often con- 
tention and bitter feelings generated between the 
different societies, by which they not only lose 
the confidence of the community, but in the exhi- 
bition of unchristian feelings often create doubt 
in the minds of some as to the truth of the Chris- 
tian religion. 

Did it ever occur to the reader that one strong, 
united church, in place of these several opposing 
small ones, would unify all Christian people, and 
command the respect of the community, and might 
by its united, harmonious, and heavenly influence, 
Christianize the whole population ? Again, such 
united action would not only tend to unite and 
harmonize our people, but require only one church 
where we now have two or three, leaving for ac- 
tive service elsewhere clergymen for missionaries, 
and money enough to build a church and sup- 
port the gospel in every hamlet in the heathen 
world. 

Another source of weakness is found in the fact 
that the population of great cities is constantly 
changing. The locality of the wealthy is liable to 
be invaded by the intermediate classes. The rich 
feel the intrusion, and begin to leave for what they 
suppose a more desirable locality. A rich and aris- 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 103 

tocratic church may by such means become a poor 
church, and must follow the wealthy families, or 
adapt itself to the changing needs and require- 
ments of the people in its immediate vicinity. It 
is sad, in a Christian community, to see a church 
struggling for support, with empty pews, in a 
densely populated part of a great city. 

I think the feeling of caste which plays such 
a conspicuous part in our community to-day keeps 
the common people from attending church, and 
causes more trouble and dissatisfaction, more so- 
cial, political, and religious discord, and more dis- 
sensions in our churches, than anything else. 

If our rich churches, instead of tending to close 
spiritual corporations, would throw off the feeling 
of caste, open their doors, and bring the churches 
into touch with the people in their immediate 
neighborhood, they would soon acquire a perma- 
nent hold upon the masses. We read that the 
"common people heard Christ gladly;" and I 
think, under proper conditions, the people can be 
brought to the churches, and become interested in 
church work. 

People differ upon minor points ; but true reli- 
gion will never lose its hold upon the hearts of 
men, for it is the spiritual expression of life itself. 
Religious thought is the fabric into which reli- 
gious character is being woven; and we cannot 



104 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

afford to allow the churches to lose their hold 
upon the hearts of the people. 

Why not, in view of these facts, abandon man- 
made creeds and dogmas of the church, and make 
the presentation of the gospel " Yea, yea," and 
" Nay, nay," and preach the plain, simple, unadul- 
terated word of Jesus Christ, which all can under- 
stand, and all will appreciate? It is noticeable 
that all the invitations to a Christian life by Christ 
were calls to follow him in his personal living, and 
not calls to subscribe to a creed or dogma de- 
scriptive of his system of religion. His plea was 
always to suffering humanity, " Come unto me." 
No one can misunderstand this simple gospel. 

Why not preach this gospel, not only from the 
pulpit, but from private dwellings, from the street- 
corners, and if necessary from the housetops, till 
a Christian atmosphere is created that shall per- 
meate every heart ? We shall then be required to 
build larger churches, and they will be tilled with 
anxious listeners ; and our clergymen will not 
be required to preach to empty pews or half-filled 
houses, as at present. Dr. Spurgeon, when asked 
how he managed to always have a full house, said, 
" I always intend to fill the pulpit, and then I can 
trust the people to fill the pews ;" and I think he 
was never disappointed. 

In order to Christianize the masses, and bring 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 105 

them into religious fellowship, we must overcome 
the atmosphere of materialistic thought which now 
obscures their minds. This will require a large 
measure of the Christ-spirit in the hearts of the 
preachers and in the churches. It will demand 
that we give up churchanity, and substitute Chris- 
tianity. Christians are in the world to purify its 
materialistic atmosphere, and infuse the Christ- 
spirit into the minds and hearts of the people, not 
only in the churches, but enough to fill every pal- 
ace and every hovel in the land, and flow out into 
the hedges and the ditches, and command the re- 
spect of all people. 

When a pure, Christian atmosphere, with its 
sweet and harmonizing influence upon the thoughts 
and hearts of the people, is established, they can- 
not resist the heavenly spirit of such a gospel, but 
will join with the churches in songs of hallelujah. 

Is the picture I have drawn too good to be 
true, — too good to be realized in our day ? Is it 
too much to believe that the plain, simple gospel 
of Christ will be understood and appreciated by 
the masses when properly presented in an atmos- 
phere of Christian love ? Every thinking mind 
will see that this gospel is what humanity needs 
to lift it out of the material philosophy of our 
day, and fix minds and hearts upon God and 
future destiny. 



106 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

It is easy to see that the advance of society, and 
the more correct modes of thought, are breaking 
down the old partitions between religious denomi- 
nations, and substituting liberty of thought for 
the authority of tradition. There is in our nature 
an inherent desire for truth and for freedom of 
thought and action. 

"He is the freeman whom truth makes free, 
And all are slaves beside." 

The spirit of individual investigation is becom- 
ing universal. We may direct, but we cannot 
stop, the growth of ideas upon matters of religious 
controversy. Men will think; and in the present 
age of investigation the desires and aspiration of 
most of the people are after truth. We can edu- 
cate and regulate modes of thinking, but we can- 
not suppress the light which the liberty of thought 
is diffusing throughout the world. We shall 
never gain a permanent hold upon the hearts and 
minds of the people if we deny them the right to 
think for themselves. The universal cry of the 
soul is for greater freedom of thought, and a more 
intelligent, conscious realization of that truth 
which makes us free. " Ye shall know the truth, 
and the truth shall make you free." 

The foundation of the gospel of Christ cannot 
be endangered by any ordeal that can be advanced 



RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS. 107 

against it. Its truth may be severely tested, but 
it will receive no harm. 

"Truth crushed to earth shall rise again; 
The eternal years of God are hers. 
But error wounded writhes in pain, 
And dies among his worshippers." 

There is no danger that speculative thought 
will carry the minds of the people away from the 
fundamental principles of the gospel while we 
adhere to the teachings of Christ, and make our 
thoughts and sympathies so broad and deep, and 
so sweet, that the great heart of humanity will 
respond to its influence. We need have no fear 
of evil consequences through the manifestation of 
the power of truth upon the human mind. It is 
only ignorance, or want of a realization of the 
existence of such truth, that allows the minds of 
the people to wander into the shades of infidelity. 

No one can be truly Christian who does not 
receive Christ in his heart, or truly moral and 
religious who does not, with the help of God, turn 
his thoughts into acts, and thus work out his own 
salvation. 

True thoughts of God and his works will al- 
ways prove an inspiration, and make us true and 
honest in the transactions of our every-day life. 
But we must accept spiritual things in God's 
appointed way, seeking first the kingdom of God 



108 THOUGHTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 

and his righteousness, and put our minds, so far as 
we may, in harmony with God's will. We have 
good reason for believing that with our spiritual 
bodies all the good things of the world will be- 
come spiritualized and added unto us, and our 
wills become merged into God's will, when the 
universe is opened to us. Let us never depre- 
ciate the good things of the world : they are part 
of God's universe, and in due time they will be- 
come spiritualized ; and the struggle between the 
world and the higher spiritual life will end in the 
fulfilment of the gospel of "Peace on earth and 
good will to men." 

" The longer I live, and the more I see 
Of the struggle of souls towards the heights above, 
The stronger this truth conies home to me, 
That the universe rests on the shoulders of love; 
A love so limitless, deep, and broad, 
That men have renamed it, and called it God." 



THOUGHT IN EDUCATION. 



The family is the realm of thought, and the 
birthplace of both body and mind. In the family 
a trend of associations is commenced which is 
imperishable ; habitudes into which the very soul 
is moulded ; impressions engraven which no lapse 
of time can obliterate, but which eternity itself 
will confirm and perpetuate. 

In childhood and youth we should see that the 
mind receives only good impressions. No matter 
how long we may live, we never get away from 
the effects of early impressions. It is better to 
watch the education of children, and know that 
there is only right forming in the mind, thus pre- 
venting the regrets and disappointed efforts in 
trying to reform them in after life. 

It is often a query with parents when the edu- 
cation of their children should commence. Dr. 
Holmes, when asked this question, said, " At 
least two hundred years before they are born." 
This is a wise answer, for it is true that we are 
all largely the product of the past. Our physical 

109 



110 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

and mental conditions are in a great measure 
woven for us. With these facts before us, we 
can realize the importance of educating our chil- 
dren in correct modes of thinking. Children in 
a normal condition require an education that will 
give to them a harmonious development of their 
bodily functions, intellectual faculties, and their 
spiritual natures. The abnormal condition of 
children should be corrected so far as possible 
in their education, to prevent the development 
of the tendency to physical and moral wrongs in 
after life. 

When we realize that normal conditions never 
produce abnormal results, that all abnormal con- 
ditions are the results of present or past conduct 
or misconduct, I think I am justified in saying 
that children have a right to a harmonious exist- 
ence, and that parents who indulge in immoral 
thoughts and unholy desires have a fearful ac- 
count to settle with their children, as well as with 
their God. 

Persons who are well born, well bred, and 
properly educated, will be found pursuing some 
legitimate business, and will always succeed to 
some extent in making the community in which 
they live, and the world, better for their having 
lived in it; while in those born with the scars 
of hereditary vice, the standard of human excel- 



EDUCATION. Ill 

lence is lowered, and it may be ver}^ difficult, 
with all our education, physical training, and 
moral culture, to prevent the cropping out of the 
moral crookedness inseparably connected with an 
abnormal condition at birth. 

In the home education of children their sur- 
roundings are potent in developing the mind and 
in cultivating their tastes, either for that which is 
refined and beautiful, or that which is coarse and 
uncomely. The rooms, with their furnishings 
and their accessories, represent the culture, of the 
family; and we look upon them as important in 
the education of life. It is these early scenes, or 
impressions of home life, that are displayed upon 
the inner walls of the mind, — pictures that never 
fade. There is no more enduring service we can 
render children than to furnish them with pleas- 
ant mental pictures upon which the mind can rest 
with delight in after years. 

It makes a great difference in after life whether 
the rooms and environments in which children 
grow up are beautiful and cheerful, or uncouth 
and ill cared for. The relation of these things to 

HUMAN LIFE 

is what gives dignity and poetry to our experi- 
ences in later years, or makes it desirable for 
reasonable people to give thought to the subject. 



112 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

Beautiful rooms not only improve our taste for 
the beautiful, but they have a real vital relation 
to life, and hold an important part in education, 
and deserve more consideration than they receive. 
It is, therefore, no trifling matter whether we 
hang poor pictures on our walls or good ones ; 
whether the decorations of our rooms are tasteful 
or unsightly. We might almost as well say it 
makes no difference whether our personal asso- 
ciates are cultured or ignorant. 

Another important thing to be observed in edu- 
cation is the selection of books. The minds of 
children are easily acted upon ; and whatever is 
allowed to affect them should be of a moral or 
religious character, or at least upon subjects cal- 
culated to impress the mind with scenes of true 
life. I do not say that children should read noth- 
ing lively or interesting. But when they have 
become accustomed to dwell in the airy regions of 
fancy by reading immoral or 

SENSATIONAL NOVELS, 

or become morbid by corrupt and debasing books, 
you may be sure that their minds are infected, and 
that errors and irregularities may be the conse- 
quences. 

We have found that the moral natures of chil- 
dren are easily marred by bad influences, and their 



EDUCATION. 113 

tastes for moral and spiritual development easily 
perverted. We have also found that children are 
equally susceptible to good influences ; and as they 
are subjected constantly to these varied conditions 
of society, it is all the more important that they 
should be always under the control of moral and 
religious training, so that their minds be not left 
to drift upon the sea of sentiment, to lose all guid- 
ance except the bent of their own inclinations. 

If we desire to improve society, we must improve 
the education of our children, upon whom, as men 
and women, all social future conditions depend. 
This proposition requires no argument, for we all 
know that as we sow so shall we reap. 

Every human soul brought into the world is 
more or less dependent for its character and suc- 
cess upon the kind and the amount of education 
it receives. The mind should not be used as a 
receptacle for the storage of intellectual facts, so 
much as a vital germ for development into mental 
and moral fruitage. 

In pursuing educational work in our 

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS, 

we must not forget that children, as well as adults, 
have various faculties ; that they have appetites, 
passions, and propensities, and are subject to the 
influences of many habits and vices ; that their 



114 HOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

minds are easily impressed, and early impressions 
are the most lasting; and that, if Ave allow irre- 
ligious, improper, and imperfect education, or 
unfavorable surroundings, to impress their minds 
with erroneous sentiments or impure thoughts or 
unholy desires, we may be sure such thoughts 
and desires will materialize, and it will be almost 
impossible by later training to prevent their de- 
velopment into irregular conduct in after life. It 
is, therefore, of the utmost importance in the edu- 
cation of children, that we give to their minds 
a moral and religious inclination which will tend 
to insure good citizenship. Young people will 
think. We cannot suppress the liberty of thought, 
but we can in early life educate and direct their 
modes of thinking. The faculty of 

THINKING CORRECTLY 

is very important for the young, as it forms a 
habit which will be of great service in after life. 
The mind should dwell only upon thoughts that 
are based in truth and real life. The importance 
of giving right direction to the thoughts of chil- 
dren and youth will be apparent when we realize 
that their character in after life depends upon 
whether they think and live in the spirit, or de- 
scend to the animal plane of thought. 

In studying our spiritual nature, we must keep 



EDUCATION. 115 

this fact in view, and also not confound the words 
we use relating to the material with those relating 
to the spiritual. By so doing, we shall be able to 
better understand the science of spirit, and com- 
prehend each other. 

Among writers and teachers in the higher de- 
partment of education, we often hear of conflicts 
between 

SCIENCE AND RELIGION. 

But true science and true religion must be in har- 
mony, for in absolute truth there can be no con- 
flict. It is only upon subjects that are not 
understood, or subjects of human speculation, that 
men differ. True science is a knowledge of things 
in their causes, and must include the spiritual as 
well as the material ; for the physical is only a 
manifestation of the spiritual. 

Scientists should not confine their labors and 
researches to the material, but should embrace 
also the realm of the spiritual; they should re- 
member that all external forms of religion, civili- 
zation, government, and all our institutions, are 
but the outward expression of the thoughts of the 
people in the present, as well as antecedent 
thought; that they all belong to the things that 
are seen, and are therefore temporal ; for it is 
u the things that are not seen that are eternal," 
and which demand the attention of educators and 



116 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

scientists as well as the clergy. In this conflict 
between science material and " science spiritual," 
scientists who confine their studies and demon- 
strations to the physical may well bow their heads, 
and seek the wisdom and the guidance of the 
spirit ; for the material things upon which they 
depend are but the materialization of the spiritual, 
and their labor and investigations have been ex- 
pended upon the physical effects of a 

"SPIRITUAL CAUSE," 

which lies beyond their present conception. It is 
evident that physical science can be relied upon 
only in a material sense ; and therefore its criti- 
cisms upon the Scriptures or the religious nature 
of man will be found void, having no status and 
no application in the realm of spirit. Here we 
find the reason why scientific thought and reli- 
gious thought do not at present harmonize. It is 
not because there is a conflict between true science 
and true religion, but because science relies upon 
the physical senses for its demonstration, and does 
not comprehend the law of spirit. We need an 
education which shall develop our spiritual na- 
ture ; a science reaching the invisible as well as 
the visible regions of the universe ; a science allied 
to the higher realms of causation, as well as the 
spheres of physical results ; a science that compre- 



EDUCATION. 117 

hends the spiritual as well as the physical, and 
apprehends life from a spiritual standpoint, ancl 
thus harmonizes the complex theories of the hu- 
man race. This is the true science of religion, 
and finds common ground of concord under the 
law of "the spirit of the life in Christ Jesus." 
So true science, instead of being opposed to the 
Christian religion, becomes its principal support. 

A sound body is an important prerequisite to 
the physical manifestation of a vigorous intellect. 
But we have instances where superior intellectual 
power has been manifested in bodies that were 
apparently very inferior. 

Alexander Pope was a deformed and inferior 
man physically. iEsop had a body one would 
think hardly capable of holding a spirit. And yet 
JEsop's Fables and Pope's Essay on Man hold an 
enviable position in the literature of the world 
to-day. 

Physical organs are necessary to enable the 
spirit to hold converse with the material world, 
but they are not necessary for its existence. 

We need have no controversy with ourselves, 
or with others, about the mysterious union be- 
tween our bodies and our spirits. What object 
God has in giving us material bodies, and sur- 
rounding us with earthly conditions, I know not. 
It is enough for me to trust that the real man, 



118 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

created "in God's image," will be provided with 
a body, if one is necessary, suited to his needs. 
I believe, however, that the spirit body we now 
have is the real body in all its forms and func- 
tions, and that this spirit body is clothed upon 
by our physical body in some way mysterious to 
us, for the purpose of enabling the spirit man to 
hold converse with physical things connected with 
our earthly life. 

Evidences of this complex nature of man are 
found in the fact that the physical senses give us 
no knowledge of God or the real man. Does the 
body dictate to the mind ? Do the feet walk ? 
Do the eyes see? Do the ears hear? Or is the 
mind the ruling power, and the physical senses 
the organs through which the mind or spirit acts ? 
The spirit thinks and feels through the brain 
and nerves. The physical senses and functions 
are the organs of the spirit, through which it is 
enabled to hold converse with the external world, 
and under certain conditions to construct or to re- 
construct the body after its own thought, for its 
own use and purposes. We never depend upon 
the material eye in the study of moral, religious, 
or metaphysical questions, and in science only 
upon subjects which require physical demonstra- 
tion. In fact, the mind or spirit uses the material 
senses only when it deals with material things. 



EDUCATION. 119 

When, from accident or other causes, any of 
the physical organs or functions of the body cease 
to act, or become weakened, or decay from the 
effects of age, so they cannot be used, the spirit so 
far loses its power to hold converse with the 
external world; but this does not prove that the 
spirit itself is weakened, or in any way impaired. 
When the body finally decays, the spiritual body, 
if worthy, is ready for a spiritual mansion. 

In pursuing the subject of a perfect education, 
let us inquire more particularly into the nature 
of man and the motives which govern his actions. 

I commence this difficult task by assuming what 
I think all admit: that man is possessed of a 
threefold nature ; that he is at once an animal, 
an intellectual, and a spiritual being ; that he is 
both mortal and immortal, therefore both natural, 
and in a certain sense, supernatural ; that he has 
a place in nature which science may demonstrate, 
and a place above nature which the physical 
sciences do not reach, — a spiritual nature which 
belongs not to the material kingdom, but to the 
spiritual kingdom. Scientists may weigh and 
analyze the physical, but the spiritual seems be- 
yond the influence of their art. 

Nature makes man an animal; and when his 
animal nature predominates, and triumphs over 
the spiritual, he acts and lives for the gratification 



120 THOUGHTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 

of his physical functions. When man's spiritual 
nature predominates and controls, it lifts him 
above nature, and he lives for the honor of God 
and the good of his fellow-men. 

The intellect is a powerful factor in controlling 
man's action; and he is so constituted that, whether 
he is learned or ignorant, the intellect may give 
its entire influence in aid of the animal or in aid 
of the spiritual, and by its influence form the 
character and control the life of the individual, — 

"And make a patriot as it makes a knave." 

f 
We do to a certain extent apprehend that which 

is upon our own plane of life, and also that which 

is below us ; but we cannot comprehend that 

which is above the plane of our own thought. 

Students familiar with the higher mathemat- 
ics readily solve problems which are entirely be- 
yond the comprehension of those who are familiar 
only with common arithmetic. So individuals or 
classes of society see and deplore the defects 
of character of those below them, and at the same 
time fail to comprehend or appreciate the supe- 
rior qualities of those who live upon a plane above 
them. 

Our young men who have received their prin- 
cipal education in the streets, and whose associ- 
ates are as ignorant as themselves, have little or 



EDUCATION. 121 

no appreciation of the blessings of a higher civili- 
zation ; and it is not strange that they should drift 
into drinking-saloons and other places of vice, and 
finally become dangerous members of society. 

Take, for an illustration, the graduates of high 
schools and colleges, who, with enlarged capacities 
and high culture, have resources for enjoyment 
entirely unknown to the more ignorant, and yet 
to many of them the higher or spiritual nature 
seems out of the range of their vision; while 
those whose natures have been harmoniously de- 
veloped have resources for enjoyment entirely be- 
yond the comprehension of those whose intellects 
only have been enlightened. 

Education that develops the muscle and the 
intellect at the expense of the moral and the 
spiritual, robs the heart of its proper influence, 
and makes man angular and discordant, and throws 
society out of harmony. 

Science is the companion of spirituality, but can 
never supersede it. Physical science relates to 
the external universe. It develops the intellect, 
but cannot satisfy the aspirations of an immortal 
being. Its study exalts and enlarges our con- 
ceptions, and fills the mind with wonder and ad- 
miration, and yet, with all its magnificence, falls 
infinitely short of that grander study which teaches 
of the soul of man and its relation to its Maker. 



122 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

Students who have been studying only the phys- 
ical sciences and depending upon their material 
senses will be surprised when they turn their 
thoughts to the spiritual, and realize that God is 
spirit, and that man, made in his image, is spirit 
also, and that their study of the physical sciences 
has not given them the least knowledge of God 
or of their own real self. 

" While we look not at the things which are 
seen, but at the things which are not seen : for 
the things which are seen are temporal; but the 
things which are not seen are eternal " (2 Cor. 
iv. 18). 

From this Scripture we learn that St. Paul was 
looking with the mind, or spirit, at things which 
are not seen by the material eye. The things that 
are seen by the material eye are temporal, because 
they belong to the material universe. The things 
which are not seen by the material eye, but are 
seen by the mind, or spirit, are eternal because 
they belong to the realm of spirit. 

A perfect education requires that the whole 
man be developed. The physical demands suste- 
nance ; the intellectual requires the stimulus of 
thought. So the spiritual nature demands a cor- 
responding spiritual life. All these faculties 
should be developed into symmetrical proportion 
in our education. In our system of education we 



EDUCATION. 123 

give too much importance to the material, and 
neglect the spiritual. We develop the physical 
and intellectual ; but the higher nature, the soul's 
life, by which we appreciate the beautiful and the 
good, — that power by which we are brought into 
divine relationship with our Creator, — is not 
given that prominence its importance demands. 
It is the exercise and the elevation of our spirits 
ual nature, and not the knowledge of physical 
science, that sustain the soul, and open the door 
to a higher and a better life. Young men, while 
studying for intellectual attainment, cannot afford 
to do otherwise than look life squarely in the face, 
and determine, come what may, to keep their 
moral natures pure. 

The spiritual and religious natures of man were 
created for the worship and adoration of their 
Creator, and can be satisfied with nothing else. 
To a Christian, it is a sad spectacle to behold 
men, created in the 

IMAGE OF GOD, 

indirectly crushing out God's image in their edu- 
cation by developing only the physical and in- 
tellectual, — studying the science of earth, and 
neglecting the science of heaven and the worship 
of God. 

If we are educated and live only in the mate- 



124 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

rial, Ave shall have nothing to rest upon when the 
material fails, as fail it surely will. We live in 
the spirit, and not in our bodies. Our bodies 
have no life of themselves ; they are only the re- 
ceptacles of life, tenements for the soul ; and 
the time will come when these bodies will be un- 
able to serve us. I do not wish to depreciate the 
importance of a sound body; but I do insist that 
man requires a 

SPIEITUAL, AS WELL AS A SCIENTIFIC 
EDUCATION ; 

for we must all admit that philosophy of life 
which recognizes the great fact that our physical 
bodies are made to serve a temporary purpose, 
a place of education, a place to prepare for pro- 
motion to a higher and better state of being. 



And what, let me ask, are our boasted system 
of education, our godless schools, doing towards 
developing our spiritual nature, and preparing us 
for promotion, or to make us worthy of Christ our 
Saviour, and the angels of God in heaven ? 

Education that leads us to depend upon our 
material senses in forming our judgment upon 
spiritual things must be wrong, for our physical 
senses cannot be so educated as to convey to us 



EDUCATION. 125 

the least conception of God, who is spirit, or of 
our own spiritual nature. 

Our education will never enable us to compre- 
hend the mystery of God ; but let us educate our- 
selves and our children to trust his word, and be 
true to his image in which we are created ; walk 
in the light, and never be confounded or led 
astray by the tendency of the age to cavil at mys- 
teries we cannot understand. 

The facts of every-day life show how important 
it is that our system of education should include 
the spiritual, and that our churches and all our 
social organizations should unite their moral and 
religious forces in human progress, and furnish 
the necessary conditions for the harmonious devel- 
opment of all classes of society. 

This would open to us a field of profound 
thought and study, and compel us to grapple with 
some of the most difficult problems of the age. 
In natural things science may demonstrate our 
position by material facts. But when we investi- 
gate man in his threefold nature, involving the 
higher relations which lie in part, at least, beyond 
the limits of finite conception, reason may prop- 
erly pay respect to faith ; for we need to seek the 
guiding hand, and walk with a wisdom higher 
than our own. 

When man in his complicated nature is properly 



126 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

analyzed and understood, and we arrive at the 
fundamental facts involved in the question of edu- 
cation, we can possibly explain the many defects 
of character in otherwise efficient men. We can 
then conceive how men may be sound and of great 
ability, and correct in certain directions, and at 
the same time weak, if not absolutely wrong, in 
others. 

A perfect education involves the solution of the 
social, moral, and religious problems of our day, 
and means something more than human laws and 
the teaching of the physical sciences. It requires a 

HARMONIOUS DEVELOPMENT 

of the race and a higher civilization. 

I know it has been said that the question of our 
social vices can never be solved by education, that 
agitating the subject only increases the trouble, 
that man's nature is so complex and obscure 
that it can never be reached, and therefore cannot 
be harmonized. But under all these coverings 
of physical and moral ills, there are spiritual 
laws, in obedience to which man may break away 
from his evil habits, and rise from this state of dis- 
cord and degradation, and by harmonious educa- 
tion and spiritual development be lifted into a 
clearer light and a purer atmosphere. 

Purity of character, freedom from evil habits, 



EDUCATION. 127 

and the elevation of the individual, are the only 
things that will ever insure freedom, peace, and 
harmony to the community ; and in proportion as 
the unit is elevated above the bondage of evil 
habits and immoral practices, will honor and 
righteousness prevail in the State and nation. 
There is no good reason why the body should not 
yield perfect obedience to the demands of a well- 
educated mind, to God's image in man. 

The solution of the question of education, then, 
lies in teaching obedience to the laws and princi- 
ples which govern our entire being, — the body 
with its appetites and passions, the mind with its 
faculties and functions, a knowledge of the higher 
spiritual nature, and the harmony of its reciprocal 
action in our daily life. 

We must not confine our thoughts and actions 
to the consideration of any one idea, however 
grand it may be. We must not suppose that the 
proper education or elevation of a certain class of 
society will accomplish the object. " Nature acts 
by general, not by partial laws." In individuals, 
disease of a limb affects the whole system. In 
nations, the effects of ignorance, vice, and dissipa- 
tion cannot be confined to individual suffering, to 
any locality, or to any class of society. 

To make such reform practical and effective, we 
must educate the public conscience to the impor- 



128 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

tance of the work, and direct the minds and hearts 
of the rising generation to the higher life, pledg- 
ing them to the principles of temperance and 
morality. 

It is quite as important that we develop the 
heart as the intellect ; and when we carry the 
minds and hearts of onr children, and the people 
generally, up to the 

"STANDARD OF THE HIGHER LAW," 

the desire to indulge in the gratification of the 
lower propensities will be controlled. 

The human mind is constantly reaching after 
more light; and, as we advance in our intellect- 
ual career, we obtain a greater control over the 
hidden forces of nature. 

By the aid of science we have analyzed the 
earth, weighed and numbered the stars, annihi- 
lated time and space. Why should not humanity 
in its more noble departments effect a greater 
achievement? Why may we not in our upward 
spiritual career obtain a more glorious triumph, — 
a triumph over ourselves, our habits, our passions, 
and our appetites? Why should we not find in 
the harmonious education and spiritual develop- 
ment of our whole nature that peace and harmony 
we have failed to find in intellectual culture and 
the physical sciences ? 



EDUCATION. 129 

To use this key in the solution of these prob- 
lems, and make such reform practical and effect- 
ive, we must educate the public conscience to 
the importance of worshipping the true God, and 
directing the minds and hearts of the rising gen- 
eration to the true understanding of their spiritual 
natures. In short, we must have an education 
that shall round out our manhood, and produce 
a harmonious development of our complex nature, 
the spiritual always dominating our thoughts, and 
keeping the appetites and passions in their proper 
place. 

This requires a spiritual education that will 
solve the problems of life and human happiness, 
Christianize the world, harmonize the race, and 
develop a civilization which will lead us to follow 
that " true Light which lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world." This will enable us to 
throw off the bondage of evil habits, overcome 
the world and all the evil influences which the 
carnal mind has thrown around us, and help us 
to rise to a higher and a better life. 

I have shown that man is essentially a spiritual 
being, and that his spiritual education and devel- 
opment afford to every one a perfect remedy for 
all his ills ; and that if each individual would 
adopt this remedy, and live up to its requirements, 
no evil could be found, no one to molest or dis- 



130 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

turb our peace and harmony, and the problem of 
life and human happiness would be solved. 

With proper education and spiritual develop- 
ment, there is no reason why the spiritual principle 
of man should not assert itself, and keep the ani- 
mal under absolute control. 

I believe all this is potential in man ; and noth- 
ing in the universe of God prevents its accom- 
plishment except ignorance, evil thoughts, and the 
perversity of the human heart. 



BRAIN-WORK. 



Man has a complex nature. He is physical 
and metaphysical, — the physical mortal, the met- 
aphysical immortal. The brain and nerves, with 
the physical senses, constitute the physical organi- 
zation through which the mind or spirit acts, and 
holds converse with the material universe. We 
should therefore exercise great care to keep the 
physical system in a normal condition, in order 
that the operations of the mind be not interrupted. 

Brain- workers, either young or old, require 
more nutrition, rest, and sleep, than mechanics 
and laborers, because labor of the brain causes a 
greater waste of tissue than labor of the muscles. 
According to the estimates of Professor Houghton, 
three hours of hard study produce more important 
changes and waste of tissue than a whole day of 
muscular labor. The brain being the organ of the 
mind, and the noblest organ of the system, receives 
a greater proportional amount of blood than any 
other part, and is, therefore, correspondingly' af- 

131 



132 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

fected by overwork, and by the quantity and qual- 
ity of nutrition which the body receives. Hence 
the importance of strict attention to diet, sleep, 
exercise, and hygienic laws in general. If it is 
true that brain-work exhausts the vital forces, and 
wears out the nerve-powers of the system, faster 
than physical labor ; that the exercise of the brain 
requires, in the way of nutrition, relatively, a 
much larger proportion of blood and vitality than 
other organs, — then close and continued applica- 
tion of the mind for six to eight hours each day, for 
scholars of weak and excitable nerves, must neces- 
sarily overtax the brain, dwarf the body, and lead 
to many sad results. 

Diseases among students in our public schools, 
as well as in our colleges, are often traceable to 
over-taxation of the mind. The brain and nerves, 
like other physical organs, can sustain a certain' 
amount of work, and gain strength and vigor. 
But if crowded by overwork, nervousness and 
general ill health must be the inevitable result. 
Excessive mental labor in the young also retards 
physical growth, and induces conditions of the 
system which are alike pernicious to the highest 
development of mind and bod}^. The amount of 
vital power or endurance has its limits ; and the 
result of long school hours in students of a ner- 
vous temperament is an overtaxed brain, a dwarfed 



BRA TN- WORK. 133 

body, a weakened intellect, a predisposition to dis- 
ease, and a premature grave. 

To prevent such results, students and all brain- 
workers should exercise all the other organs of 
the body as well as the brain. Even the most 
secluded bookworm must use his muscles to some 
extent, or suffer the penalty; and the great ma- 
jority of literary and professional men are forced 
to take systematic and vigorous exercise in order 
to keep their brains in good working order. On 
the other hand, the uneducated and laboring 
classes, while they toil with their hands, as their 
daily necessities require, are apt to let their brains 
lie idle. 

Brain and muscle should act in harmony as far 
as possible in our work and in our recreation. 
Every one should be educated, and the mind 
trained, to understand the business or labor he is 
to perform. This is very important, for we must 
all realize the fact that labor is in itself of no 
value unless directed by intelligence. Where a 
number of unskilled laborers are employed, it has 
been found necessary to employ a person of intel- 
ligence to direct their labor to make it valuable or 
tend to any useful purpose. If the laborers had 
intelligence sufficient to direct their own labor, 
they would make it very much more valuable, 
and would receive a greater compensation. 



134 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

The laborer with an idle or uneducated brain is 
really using only the grosser or animal part of him- 
self ; and thus, by neglecting to develop his power 
of thought, his muscle must be directed by others, 
and therefore by his own neglect he forfeits the 
claim to his higher nature, and becomes a part of 
the business machinery of the world. 

The unskilled laborer directed by others may 
earn a living. But to become successful, as the 
world goes, he must increase his value by develop- 
ing his brain-power. In the present condition of 
society, the laborer usually has a definite task as- 
signed for certain hours, and when that is over he 
feels free to rest. If the laborer could be made to 
realize the fact that the mind needs the stimulus of 
thought as much as the body needs food and ex- 
ercise, he would spend his leisure hours in studying 
the nature and importance of the enterprise upon 
which he is employed. He would then become 
more intelligent, and with his improved thought 
he would do superior work. He would better sat- 
isfy his employer, and receive greater wages. He 
would be satisfied with himself, and in every way 
improve his condition, and become a more pros- 
perous and a better citizen. 

It is the brain-workers who have discovered 
and adapted the machinery of the world to the use 
of mankind, and made the present age so remark- 



BRAIN-WORK. 135 

able for its wealth and prosperity. I think I may 
safely say that nine-tenths of the unparalleled 
increase of wealth for the last fifty years has been 
the direct result of brain-work. 

• Brain-workers, as a class, are more active than 
mechanics or laborers. The literary man need 
never be idle, for his thinking powers, the tools 
of his trade, are always at hand, and the trend of 
his thought is only interrupted by sleep ; and the 
intensity and amount of the labor are measured 
by mental discipline and power of endurance. 

Thus we come in sight of a great organic law 
of being, that brain-work subtracts vitality from 
the fountain, while muscle-work only makes drafts 
upon the ramifying streams of life. 

The practical inferences are, that brain expends 
its energy and itself during the hours of wakeful- 
ness, and that it is recuperated only during sleep ; 
that those who do the most brain-work require the 
most sleep ; that time taken from necessary sleep 
is infallibly destructive to mind, body, and estate, 
and Nature will never fail to punish every viola- 
tion of these great laws. 

HINTS TO BRAIN-WORKERS. 

As there is no kind of employment so exhaust- 
ing to man's faculties as steady brain-work, it 
should ever be a study with us how we may pre- 



136 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

serve our energies, and prevent that strain upon 
our powers which is breaking down so many in 
professional life. Any means or agencies which 
will save wear and tear should be eagerly seized 
upon. While the brain-power is exhausted by 
thought, the manual labor of writing is wearisome 
to the flesh. Journalists, ministers, and lawyers 
often postpone, and then never accomplish, intel- 
lectual tasks, because they have not the physical 
power to undertake them. The employment of 
an amanuensis to perform the manual work of 
writing while one dictates is a great saving of 
energy. Any person who has not tried this plan 
would be agreeably surprised to find how much 
assistance it affords. Very often a professional 
man feels too weary to resume the pen, and finish 
some literary task which is urgent. Then is the 
time when he should recline in his easy-chair, or 
take a comfortable attitude elsewhere, and dictate 
to an amanuensis. After a little experience, one 
will find that he can thereby accomplish almost 
twice as much, and with far less exhaustion. 
The attention is not divided as when one writes 
himself. With nothing to divert the eyes, a per- 
son can, if necessary, close them, and concentrate 
the mind on the subject, while the assistant com- 
municates to paper the thoughts which follow. 
Many of our greatest writers rarely touch the pen 



BBAIN-WOEK. 137 

and paper themselves, unless when writing on 
private matters, but, stretched out in the mean 
time in an easy-chair or upon a lounge, prepare 
their articles through their amanuenses. 

Brain-workers should rest often, and never 
allow themselves to become weary by drawing 
upon the resources of the future. There is a false 
idea prevalent about resting enough in a few 
weeks in summer to last the year. However full 
of delight and peace the lazy hours in the country, 
however freighted with rest and strength the long 
day by the sea, we cannot hoard and carry away 
enough of the precious store. Every twenty-four 
hours is a cycle of its own, in which to tear down 
and build up ; and whatever is spent between one 
sunrise and another must be made good from food, 
recreation, and rest. Whoever commences the 
morning wearied, and continues his labor, is 
spending too much vitality, and will find that 
a system of paying Nature's past debts by drawing 
on the future will eventually make him a bank- 
rupt. To any one, unless shut up between brick 
walls, if there belongs a green spot somewhere 
around the house, if he can sit, at least, under 
one vine and fig-tree of his own, there is at hand 
a perennial spring, if he but knows how to drink 
of it. Perhaps you will say, " I cannot stop to 
rest, I have no time ; I will by and by, but I 



138 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

must do my wort." Ah ! but are you sure of 
your by and by? Are you not doing the very 
thing now that may lose it for you ; or, if entered 
upon, will it not, instead of being spent in rest, 
as you fondly hope, be spent, rather, in regrets for 
the strength so unwisely and hopelessly lost. 

ACTIVITY OF MIND NECESSARY TO HEALTH. 

While some of our best minds may have been 
injured by overwork, it is to be regretted that 
the brain-power of so many of our people is lost 
in inactivity, or spent on subjects of minor impor- 
tance. The bod)- can never become symmetrically 
developed without the co-operation of the mind. 

If we would have our bodies health}', we must 
bring the whole system into harmony with the 
laws of our being. The brain, which is the organ 
of thought, and the whole heart and soul, must be 
enlisted in the object we desire to accomplish. 
The brain must be used, and used in orderly and 
vigorous ways, that the life-giving streams of force 
may flow into the expectant organs, which can 
minister but as they are ministered unto. We 
admire the vigorous animal life of the Greeks ; 
and with justice we recognize, and partly seek 
to imitate, the various gymnastic and other means 
which they employed to secure it. But probably 



B BAIN-WORK. 139 

we should make a fatal error if we omitted from 
our calculation the hearty and generous earnest- 
ness with which the highest subjects of art, specu- 
lation, and politics were pursued by them. 
Surely, in their case, the beautiful and energetic 
mental life was expressed in the athletic and 
graceful frame. 

It is a source of gratification, I confess, to recog- 
nize the fact that our own athletes of the modern 
Athens have recently gained a renowned victory 
over the modern Greeks in their own famed 
Athens, thus exemplifying that best results are 
achieved by the harmonious development of mind 
and body. 

And is it a mere extravagance to ask whether 
much of the lassitude and weariness of life may 
not be due to lack of mental occupation on worthy 
subjects, exciting and repaying a generous enthu- 
siasm, as well as to an over-exercise on lower ones ? 
whether an engrossment with matters which have 
not substance enough to justify or satisfy the men- 
tal grasp, be not at the root of some part of the 
maladies which affect our mental convalescence ? 
Of this we may be sure, that the due exercise of 
brain, of thought upon subjects of profound inter- 
est, is one of the essential elements of human life. 
The perfect health of a man is not the same as 
that of an ox or a horse. The preponderating 



140 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

capacity of man's nervous parts demands a corre- 
sponding life. And this fact must be recognized 
and acted upon in the solution of the problem of 
health. 

It has been supposed that hard study is very 
injurious, and it is believed by many that the 
health of } r oung people is often broken down by 
mental effort. Parents may not understand why 
their sons and daughters, attending our common 
schools, boarding-schools, academies, and colleges, 
who were expected to become educated and de- 
veloped into perfect men and women, become 
weak in intellect and physically debilitated. This 
sad result is usually attributed to hard study, but 
this is often a mere subterfuge. It is true that 
excessive study, with the confinement consequent 
upon it, and insufficient exercise, may produce 
both mental and physical debility. But numerous 
and well-attested facts coming under our observa- 
tion justify us in saying that the majority of these 
cases is dependent upon other causes. 

Study strengthens the mind, as exercise does 
the body ; and when parents and teachers see the 
glow of health fading from the cheek of those 
under their charge, they may well suspect that 
such persons are guilty of a solitar}?- vice, which, 
if continued, will, in spite of all their education, 
destroy the vigor of both body and mind, and ren- 



BRAIN-WORK. 141 

der them weak, nervous, and unfit to properly dis- 
charge the important duties of life. 

The most healthful exercise, that which most 
promotes physical vigor and strength, is the exer- 
cise of the human brain, which is itself a physical 
organ. The pale and puny student, who flatters 
his self-conceit that he is suffering dyspepsia, and 
all the ills that come with it, because he is so 
intellectual, may not lay the flattering unction to 
his soul ; it is more likely because he is simple 
and weak, having neglected his mental and phys- 
ical training. With a sound system of physical 
exercise, and healthful modes of living, that same 
pale and self-fancying intellectual being would 
accomplish twice the mental work that has brought 
him to death's door, in which very pleasant posi- 
tion he prides himself. 

It has been proved by statistics that among the 
longest livers, as a general rule, are the intellec- 
tual. A professor examined the subject, and 
found that, taking classes in the average, those 
that are dullest and stupidest are, as a general 
rule, shorter lived than the good scholars, those 
who exercise the brains thoroughly, faithfully, 
and have performed all their duties conscien- 
tiously. And yet there is a great disproportion 
between the powers of childish attention and the 
length of school hours, Mr, Donaldson, head 



142 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

master of the Training College of Glasgow, states 
that the limits of voluntary and intelligent atten- 
tion are, with children of from five to seven years 
of age, about fifteen minutes ; from seven to ten 
years of age, about twenty minutes ; from ten to 
twelve years of age, about fifty-five minutes ; from 
twelve to sixteen or eighteen years of age, about 
sixty minutes ; and continues, " I have repeatedly 
obtained a bright, voluntary attention, from each 
of these classes, for five, or ten, or fifteen minutes 
more ; but I observed it was always at the ex- 
pense of the succeeding lesson. '' 

As soon as the capacity of the brain to receive 
instruction becomes exhausted, a recess of a few 
minutes should be granted, after which the mind 
will be in condition for another season of study. 
By attention to these rules, as much can be taught 
to children in three hours a day as they can by 
any possibility receive ; and it is an axiom in edu- 
cation that no lesson has been taught until it has 
been received ; as soon, therefore, as the receiving- 
power of the children is exhausted, any further 
teaching, until they have had a season of rest, is 
useless, nay, injurious, inasmuch as you thereby 
weaken, instead of strengthen, the receiving- 
power. This ought to be a first principle in edu- 
cation, but it is seldom acted on. 

The truth of this is made evident by the testi- 



BRAIN-WORK. 1J:3 

moil}' of all competent witnesses. We respect- 
fully submit to all school commissioners, teachers, 
and parents who may read these statements, that 
they are not of a character to be glanced at and 
tossed aside, but are worthy of being thought of 
and acted upon. 

From Carlyle's pictures of German schools, and 
from all descriptions of the English schools, there 
is no doubt that in both those countries there is a 
lamentable want of understanding, on the part of 
scholars, of the subjects which they attempt to 
learn. The matter is still worse in France and 
Austria, and it is the prominent vice which per- 
vades the whole American system of education. 

Our failure to secure an understanding of the 
things which we try to teach is, doubtless, in part 
owing to the fact that we endeavor to teach too 
much in a given time ; but it is also in part at- 
tributable to the circumstance that we waste more 
than three-quarters of the time in trying to impart 
ideas when the mind of the pupil is not in a con- 
dition to receive them. A teacher might as well 
expend his efforts upon carved wooden images of 
children, as upon scholars after their minds are 
tired out. 



THOUGHTS ARE REALITIES. 



Reader, did it ever occur to 3-ou that thoughts, 
though unseen, are more real than any product of 
our physical senses ? Our thoughts may be con- 
fused, and even conflicting, in our present inhar- 
monious condition ; but we never act without 
their inspiration. Thoughts are the mainspring 
of action throughout the universe. 

Isa. lv. 9 : " For as the heavens are higher 
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your 
ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." 
God's ways are higher than our ways, because his 
thoughts are higher than our thoughts ; showing 
that the ways or actions correspond Avith the 
thoughts, and we shall always find our actions a 
counterpart of the thoughts which inspire them. 

David says, " I thought on my ways, and turned 
my feet unto thy testimonies " (Ps. cxix. 59). 
" The thoughts of the righteous are right " (Prov. 
xii. 5) ; and (xv. 26), « The thoughts of the 
wicked are an abomination," because they lead to 
abominable acts. 

144 



THOUGHTS ARE REALITIES. 145 

Isa. iv. 7: "Let the unrighteous man forsake 
his thoughts," showing that the evil thoughts 
were the cause of his unrighteousness. 

" Their feet run to evil, . . . their thoughts 
are thoughts of iniquity" (Isa. lix. 7). "A rebel- 
lious people, which walketh . . . after their own 
thoughts" (Isa. lxv. 2). 

Mark vii. 21 : " Out of the heart proceed evil 
thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders." And 
he might have added riots, wars, and civil disorder. 

" For I know their works and their thoughts " 
(Isa. lxvi. 18). "Keep him in perfect peace 
whose mind [or thoughts] is stayed on thee " 
(Isa. xxvi. 3). 

Thoughts are the inspiration of the mind, and 
do not necessarily include or require the exercise 
of the material senses. 

The action of our thoughts is instantaneous, 
and beyond the influence of time or space. Our 
thoughts can reach the farthest star, thousands of 
billions of miles away, as easily and as quickly as 
an object near us. 

People never act without first having thoughts 
about such acts. People may summon their intel- 
lect and their reason to judge of their thoughts 
and consider results. But because a person acts 
without conscious deliberation does not prove that 
he acts without thoughts. 



146 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

Thoughts are not only instantaneous, and recog- 
nize neither time nor space, but they are innumer- 
able. No one can realize the millions of thoughts 
that make up the unwritten history of a single 
mind for a single day. And yet every thought, 
good or bad, becomes an essential factor in form- 
ing the character of every person. There is no 
limit to the possibilities of the human mind. Our 
thoughts are not only instantaneous and innumer- 
able, but they are 

CURATIVE ; 

so that if the world of mankind would be guided 
by the true light, and follow only good thoughts, I 
see no reason Avhy this present discordant world 
might not be changed into one of harmony and 
peace. 

If we cannot accomplish all this for the world, 
we can accomplish very much for ourselves and 
those about us, by keeping our own minds from 
evil and discordant thoughts, and elevating our 
souls to a higher plane of life. Our good thoughts 
and our good character will react upon our neigh- 
bors, who, seeing our good works, will be filled 
with good thoughts, which will lead them to a 
higher plane of life. 

Our thoughts are not only instantaneous, innu- 
merable, and curative, but they are 



THOUGHTS ARE REALITIES. 147 

CREATIVE. 

The first chapter of the Gospel of St. John 
reads, " In the beginning was the Word, and the 
Word was with God, and the Word was God." 
The original Greek rendered word is " logos" It 
means the inner life, the real esse, or literally the 
divine thought; viz., in the beginning was the 
thought, and the thought was with God, and 
the thought was God. 

Everything ever created by God or man was 
the direct product of thought. God spake the 
word (his thought), and the universe appeared as 
the materialization of his thought. We are almost 
overwhelmed with the knowledge of this wonder- 
ful power of God's thought; and yet all the works 
of art, sculpture, painting, literature, railroads, 
telegraph, telephone, all the machinery and the 
furniture of the world, are but the materialization 
of human thought. 

When we direct our thoughts within ourselves, 
we discern the wonderful creative power of 
thought in forming our own condition for health 
of body and peace of mind. Our good or bad 
habits are formed and continued by the creative 
power of our thoughts ; and it follows that the 
only real remedy for the ills of life is found in a 
change of thought from the animal to the spiritual. 



148 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

With such evidence before us, we shall not 
overlook the fact that each individual, for himself, ' 
must fight this battle of life on the field of his 
own mind and soul ; and upon the result of this 
battle depend the peace of the individual, the 
tranquillity of society, and the salvation of the 
race. 

If our thoughts are real, and the prime mover 
of all our actions, it follows that the deplorable 
condition in which we find society to-day is but 
the legitimate outcome of impure thoughts and 
unholy desires in the minds and hearts of the 
people. In the reality and power of thought we 
have the key to the solution of the great 

PROBLEMS OF LIFE 

and human happiness. If wrong thoughts pro- 
duce in us wrong actions, and good thoughts 
good actions, to improve the condition of society 
we must improve our habits of thought, arouse 
the dormant energies of the mind, and make all 
understand and appreciate the power and the in- 
spiration of good thoughts, — make them realize 
the fact that thoughts are really the inspiration of 
all our actions ; that when we have freed our 
minds from evil thoughts, we shall be able to free 
our lives from the bondage of evil habits, — make 
all realize the glorious redemption awaiting those 



THOUGHTS ABE REALITIES. 149 

who are ready to control their thoughts, and give 
up their evil deeds, and accept the higher plane of 
spiritual life. 

We may not all understand just how a change 
of thought in the individual mind can change the 
condition of society. But we all know that 
thoughts and ideas do shape our 

SOCIAL CONDITION, 

and determine the cycle of human progress. The 
leading emotions or activities of every person are 
determined by some dominant idea or passion, 
which leads him in a certain direction, and too 
often towards sensual gratification. This disso- 
nance or conflict, that St. Paul has so graphically 
portrayed, in which some element of man's nature 
is ever struggling to obtain the supremacy, is the 
real battle of life, in which every man is to deter- 
mine his true character and the loyalty of his 
will. 

If this struggle of the spirit is the basis of all 
reform, and I think no one will deny it, it is evi- 
dent that we must rely upon the enlightenment of 
our spiritual nature to lift our common humanity 
above the influence of evil thoughts and vicious 
habits. 

To accomplish any great reform in the world, we 
must begin right, and instil into the minds of the 



150 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

young and the old the importance of right think- 
ing ; and when this has become a fixed habit in our 
minds, it will be reflected in the purity of our 
lives. 

People say, in a jocose manner, " Oh, we can 
think what we please ! " as if our thoughts were 
innocent playthings for the mind. But I affirm 
that no man is secure from the influence of evil 
deeds while his mind is occupied by evil thoughts. 
It is this medley of good and bad thoughts in 
our minds that makes our lives so irregular and 
unreliable. Purifying the fountain from evil 
thoughts in the individual mind is the only true 
basis of reform ; and when we free our minds 
from evil thoughts, we shall be able to free our 
lives from the bondage of evil habits, and so- 
ciety from all social ills, for society has no ills 
which do not belong to the individual. This is 
an important truth, and should receive our serious 
consideration ; for we shall never succeed in our 
efforts to reform the world till we realize, and act 
upon the fact, that 

THOUGHTS ARE FORCES, 

which not only control the mind's actions, but are 
materialized into visible effects upon our lives. 
The beautiful picture we so much admire is but 
the materialized thought of the artist. The archi- 



THOUGHTS ABE BEALITIES. 151 

tect builds the house in his mind before he can 
even draw the plan. 

The happy countenance we sometimes see, 
beaming with joy, is but the reflected expression 
of the purity of thought within. So, also, our 
errors and our bad thoughts become reflected upon 
our bodies in various ways. Mental conditions 
of a brutal person not only debase his morals, but 
stamp brutality upon his face. 

Evil is the result of bad thoughts. Crimes are 
in the thoughts before they become overt acts in 
human law. The real guilt is in thinking evil ; 
and so comes in the law, " Evil be to him that 
evil thinks." 

If you look upon a criminal or an ill-tempered 
person, you will see the proof of the action of 
this law in the unpleasant or wicked thoughts 
carving their lines in the expression of the face. 
u As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." 

By a law of our nature, indulgence in vile or 
irreligious thoughts encourages corresponding vice 
in conduct. Vicious thoughts always precede 
vicious actions. Christ condemned the man as 
already guilty of adultery in his heart from the 
effects of lustful thoughts. We cannot convict 
a person till he has committed some overt act ; 
but the real crime is always in the thoughts, or 
unseen things, of the spirit. 



152 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

It may be difficult for persons whose moral 
sense has been perverted, and whose 

SPIRITUAL PERCEPTIONS 

have not been enlightened, to understand how we 
can be dual in our nature ; how we can be at 
once an animal and a spiritual being, and that our 
condition depends upon whether we live in the 
spirit, or descend to the animal plane of thought. 

There are many things connected with our un- 
developed spiritual being that we cannot now 
understand. We ought not to expect that our 
finite nature can comprehend the spiritual glory 
of the infinite. But we can all realize the fact 
that our physical senses alone can never guide us 
to heaven ; that material philosophy can never 
penetrate the mystic veil of the future ; that in 
this supreme conflict of soul, spirit light only can 
illumine our pathway across the dark river that 
lies before us. 

These conflicts of our dual nature are beyond 
the limits of our finite conception, and our reason 
and our logic may properly pay respect to faith ; 
for in this spiritual conflict we need to seek a 
guiding hand, and walk with a wisdom higher 
than our own. Wisdom's ways are ways of pleas- 
antness, and all her paths are paths of peace. 



INTEMPERANCE. 



Stimulants of some kind have been used by 
a large portion of the human family in all ages of 
the world. People of all nations have been able 
to find, in their own country, articles from which 
they could manufacture drinks that stimulate and 
intoxicate ; and the people have indulged in their 
use to the destruction of the best interests of 
society. 

The use of alcoholic stimulants is not a new 
subject, and yet there are phases or facts con- 
nected with their use which have not received 
the consideration their importance demands. 

Alcohol is neither food nor medicine. It can- 
not add one molecule to the plasm out of which 
our bodies are daily built up. It does not supply, 
but consumes, vital force. It weakens the nerves, 
deadens the sensibilities, and lessens the power 
of the system to resist disease, or to recover from 
its effects. 

Alcoholic stimulants may serve a purpose in 
bridging over attacks of sinking or prostration; 

153 



154 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

and physicians may, and often do, interpret snch 
momentary exaltation as favorable to life and 
health, and so continue their use. But the incited 
activity produced by such stimulants does not 
last, and cannot be extended for any great length 
of time, even by the continued and increased use 
of the stimulants ; because the depressing effects, 
which are sure to follow after a time, more than 
counteract their power to stimulate. Alcohol 
produces an excitement of the system for a time, 
but it does not nourish or sustain the vital force. 
It inflames the stomach, weakens the power of 
digestion and assimilation, and cannot be long 
continued without injurious results. There is 
no added vital force, except by increased power 
of digestion and assimilation. There can be no 
excess in the animal economy without a corre- 
sponding loss. The 

MOMENTARY EXALTATION 

of the functions of either body or mind produced 
by alcoholic stimulants is always followed by an 
increased degree of depression. Alcohol may 
spur a weary brain, or nerve a feeble arm to 
abnormal exertion for a time ; but its work is 
destructive, and not constructive. 

Every physician knows that the man whose 
system is soaked in liquors does not have the 



INTEMPERANCE. 155 

same chance for recovery when sick as the man of 
temperate habits. He knows that the alcohol so 
poisons the blood and tissue as to render medicine 
comparatively ineffectual. He also knows that it 
takes but a small quantity of alcohol to inflame 
the stomach and brain of persons who have not 
been accustomed to its use ; and yet it is by no 
means unusual for physicians to recommend alco- 
holic stimulants to students and professional men 
who have become exhausted by excessive mental 
labor. It is not stimulus, but rest, that such per- 
sons require ; and if they use alcoholic stimulants, 
and continue labor, they do it at the risk of 
broken constitutions, and will be likely to fill pre- 
mature graves. The same result follows the use 
of alcohol among the farmers and laborers, who 
work principally with their muscles, though less 
fatal than when used by students and brain- 
workers. 

Some sixty or sixty-five years ago, it was com- 
mon among the farmers to use alcoholic stimu- 
lants to a considerable extent, especially during 
the "haying season," when all were expected to 
labor very hard. This extra season of labor they 
supposed required an extra amount of stimulant. 
To answer this end farmers generally procured 
eight or ten gallons of New England rum, as it 
was called. I was at that time of the age to take 



156 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

notice, and be impressed with the result of my 
observation. I found that the men who indulged 
freely in the use of stimulant, after working for a 
week or ten days, came to a state of exhaustion, 
and were obliged to quit labor for a few days for 
recuperation ; while those who did not use the 
stimulant worked steadily through the season. 
My observation proved the fact that those who 
did not use the stimulant secured their hay-crop 
earlier, and with more care, than those who used 
the stimulant. 

It is true that alcoholic stimulants may produce 
a momentary exaltation of the bodily functions. 
A man may under the alcoholic lash perform more 
labor for a few hours, but it is sure to be fol- 
lowed by an increased degree of depression ; and 
it will be found that in the end the men who are 
temperate will accomplish more work and with 
better results, than men who indulge in the use of 
alcoholic stimulant. Contrast in any field of labor 
the work performed, or the condition of the men 
and their families, the temperate with the intempe- 
rate, and you will see where the advantage lies. 

It is the indubitable result of any undue 

EXERCISE OR STIMULANT 

of nerve force that a certain amount of exhaustion 
follows, with its attendant physical and mental 



INTEMPERANCE. 157 

depression. This depression of the whole system 
is one of the simplest illustrations of the laws that 
govern the human race. 

What course of treatment have you followed? 
I ask of a lady, who comes for advice. "I have 
had several physicians and taken some medicine." 
What kind of medicine ? " Sometimes it is 
sherry, sometimes lager beer, sometimes whiskey 
or brandy;" but nine times out of ten an alcoholic 
stimulant, a whip, a cruel spur, quickening speed 
and consuming vitality. 

The fashionable lady, exhausted from the effects 
of late suppers and late hours, consults her physi- 
cian. He prescribes a mild tonic, and recommends 
wine two or three times a day. She is pleased 
with the doctor's prescription, and so takes her 
wine or beer ; and after the lapse of a few months 
the desire for stimulants is acquired, the dose 
increased, and, as more stimulant is demanded, 
whiskey or brandy is substituted. The drinking- 
habit becomes confirmed ; she indulges to such an 
extent that she is obliged to take her bed to sleep 
off its effects. 

Observe that this habit of intemperance has 
been fostered under the direction of the doctor, 
with whom she has frequently consulted, and from 
whom she has a right to expect advantageous 
advice. 



158 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

Does the doctor inquire about the improper 
food taken into this delicate stomach, and about 
the sleep his patient loses night after night? 
Does he strive to correct this habit of dissipation, 
and speak out his honest thoughts, and give a 
truthful account of his professional diagnosis ? 
Most assuredly not. Physicians who give plain, 
practical advice, and prescribe for their patients 
mild medicines to remove disease and restore nor- 
mal action, are very likely to be unpopular. Peo- 
ple like a doctor who will give them what they 
like — alcohol. 

" Do you mean to say that you do not approve 
of alcoholic stimulants under any circumstances ? " 
is a question asked me very frequently, and with 
real earnestness, by physicians and so-called tem- 
perance men, who have not yet seen their way to 
total abstinence. 

They have many examples to relate of the good 
done by beer, wine, whiskey, and brandy; but the 
effects of alcohol are always deceptive, and I be- 
lieve that their estimate of the good accomplished 
by these stimulants is erroneous. 

I have often witnessed cases where alcoholic 
stimulants had been given for days and even 
weeks, when the attending physicians seemed to 
think that their patients had been kept alive upon 
such stimulants, when it seemed to me evident 



INTEMPERANCE. 159 

that they had survived in spite of the liquors, and 
would have recovered much sooner without them; 
and I have seen other patients succumb, whom it 
would seem might have recovered from their dis- 
eases, but for the additional shock produced by 
the use of such stimulants. 

In the case of a patient rapidly sinking, I might 
perhaps administer some alcoholic stimulant, were 
nothing else at hand, but with the firm belief that 
the object would have been more satisfactorily at- 
tained by harmless medicines. 

If, in driving with a horse over a dangerous 
way, I find myself sinking in a slough, and no one 
near to render assistance, I should most certainly 
apply the whip; but once in safety, I should not 
continue the whip as doctors do the alcohol, but 
give the tired animal just what it most needed, 
rest. 

This is precisely what alcohol, in any form, 
does to the human system. It may be combined 
and given with tonics or other articles that are of 
service ; but the alcohol itself is the lash, and 
never, under any circumstances, is it anything 



In view of such facts, it seems unaccountable 
that physicians should persist in prescribing alco- 
holic stimulants in fevers and other inflammatory 
diseases, when they must know that they add to 



160 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

the inflammatory condition, and consume more 
rapidly the vitality of their patients. It is proba- 
ble that there are frequent deaths under such 
treatment that would not have occurred had the 
alcoholic stimulants been omitted. 

If you were an engineer on a railroad train, 
with an engine constructed to run thirty miles an 
hour, and you found that you were running down- 
grade at a speed of two or three times that rate, 
you surely would not order your fireman to use 
pitch or petroleum to increase speed for the safety 
of the train ; and yet that is precisely what the 
doctor with his fever patient is doing when he 
orders alcoholic stimulants. 

HEREDITARY EFFECTS. 

The desire for alcoholic stimulants is always 
morbid. The healthy system needs no stimula- 
tion, and desires none. It is only when an unnat- 
ural appetite has been created by the habitual use 
of some stimulant, that the craving for intoxicants 
is experienced; this morbid appetite may not al- 
ways have been created by the person himself, but 
may have been inherited from his ancestors ; such 
idiosyncrasies are not infrequent. 

It is worthy of notice that an inherited appetite 
for liquors may lie latent for years without giving 



INTEMPERANCE. 161 

the least indication of its presence ; but let alco- 
holic liquors be taken, even under the prescription 
of the physician, and the appetite, hitherto dor- 
mant, may be aroused and incited, and become 
difficult to control. 

The laws of descent by which such depraved 
appetites are transmitted are but little understood ; 
and yet nothing can be more absurd than to sup- 
pose that physical deformity and debased mental 
qualities can be the result of sound physical 
health and normal conditions of mind. 

We are largely the product of the past; our 
physical and mental conditions are in a great 
measure woven for us. How important, then, 
that we should abstain from all unnatural stimula- 
tion, immoral practices, and unholy thoughts, that 
we may improve our condition, and transmit to 
our posterity a higher condition of life. 

In view of the facts and experiences of life, 
people indulge in intoxicants apparently with- 
out the slightest thought of the evils that are 
sure to follow. 

Prospective and nursing mothers use liquors to 
a considerable extent without being aware of the 
injury done to their own system, or the terrible 
results likely to be entailed upon their offspring. 

Dr. Edmonds of London, speaking upon this 
subject, says : — ■ 



162 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

" A very large majority of the ladies of my own acquain- 
tance, who are a fair sample, perhaps, of ladies living in 
London society, have acquired the habit of using wine, 
table-beer, stout, and frequently whiskey and brandy, to 
a large extent, I think, owing to the mistake on the part 
of my own profession in the advice which they have given. 
The result is that the babies of the present generation are 
never sober from the earliest period of their existence until 
they have been weaned. 

" This is a shocking statement for me to make, but I 
should not be doing my duty unless I were to make it as 
broadly and strongly as that. It is a simple fact. The 
mother's blood, practically, is entirely in common with that 
of the child. You know that if the mother takes even an 
ordinary dose of castor oil, it will often affect the baby 
more than it affects the mother ; that one has to be exceed- 
ingly careful in prescribing for mothers simply on that 
ground. Now, what does that simple fact prove ? That the 
soothed condition of the baby, after the mother has taken 
half a pint of beer, is really the first stage of drunkenness 
in that child. 

" When a mother tells me that whenever she takes whis- 
key and water, or brandy and water, because the child is 
fractious, and she finds that her milk agrees with it better, I 
am obliged to ask her if she knows that she is simply mak- 
ing herself the medium for distilling into her babe's system 
almost the whole of that spirit which she takes into her 
own, and whether she is aware that that soothed condition 
of the child is really the first stage of drunkenness ? 

" Well, now, ladies, bear that in mind ; when you are 
told to take wine, beer, or brandy, understand that you are 
merely distilling that wine, spirit, or beer into your child's 
frame ; that the very form and fashion which the child 



INTEMPERANCE. 163 

is to preserve for the rest of its life, is being constructed 
out of 

BLOOD THAT IS ALCOHOLIZED, 

out of a condition of the system in which intoxication is 
the real, substantial element for the first twelve months of 
its growth." 

Such is the deliberate judgment of one of Eng- 
land's noblest physicians, admitting that the 
terrible results of the use of alcoholic stimulants, 
which he has so graphically portrayed, are, to 
a very great extent, owing to the mistakes on the 
part of the medical profession in so often pre- 
scribing and recommending their use. 

The daily sights of drunkenness and degrada- 
tion are revolting to the public mind and morals. 
But dark as are the shadings of these pictures to 
the eye, they do not compare with the silent 
effects in transmitting to posterity, not only the 
taste for spirituous liquors, but shattered and 
diseased constitutions, physical and moral deprav- 
ity, and a patrimony of misery and woe. 

If the drunken father injured himself alone, if 
the mother, sleeping off intoxication, wrought no 
evil except the present, it would be of compara- 
tively small account. They do infinitely worse. 
They T make drunkards, criminals, lunatics, and 
idiots for another generation. It is estimated that 
there are forty thousand 



164 THOUGHTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 



LUNATICS AND IDIOTS 

born of drunken parents annually in the United 
States, and who are lunatics and idiots because of 
drunken parents. Lunatics, idiots, and monstrosi- 
ties are not inflictions upon wise and good parents. 
Normal conditions never produce abnormal results. 
There may be conditions which we do not under- 
stand, but we have the best authority for believing 
that we all reap what we sow. 

We have then, as the result of genteel social 
drinking and maudlin drunkenness, the various 
degrees of lunacy, idiocy, and feeble-mindedness. 

There are hundreds of thousands of parents 
addicted to the use of fermented and distilled 
liquors, who would scorn the idea of being consid- 
ered intemperate, and yet who are inevitably 
perpetuating weakness, and entailing upon chil- 
dren and grandchildren an endless heritage of 
moral, mental, and physical misery. Not only are 
physical deformities and predispositions to the 
taste of alcoholic liquors transmitted, but the 

FRENZIED EXCITEMENT, 

nervous and demoniacal disposition of inebriate 
parents, are often perpetuated as characteristics 
in their offspring, urging them into crime and 
degradation. 



INTEMPERANCE. 165 

It is in this direction that we must look for an 
explanation of the terrible crimes that so shock 
the public mind. When we consider this subject 
in all its bearings, we shall wonder that there are 
not more of that class represented by Guiteau, 
whose moral condition so well fitted him for an 
assassin ; or the fiendish Pomeroy boy, who is now 
serving out his sentence in the State prison. 

PHYSICIANS. 

The relations of physicians to society are pecu- 
liar and responsible. They should teach, as well 
as administer drugs. They should not only look 
after the sanitary condition of the people, but also 
to the elevation of the race. They should strive 
to make the people understand the relations be- 
tween cause and effect; to make all realize the 
fact that children have a most sacred right to a 
harmonious existence ; that parents who are in- 
temperate, and who indulge in fits of passion or 
moral wrong, have a fearful account to settle with 
their children, as well as with their God ; that 
parents who transmit to their children abnormal 
conditions or perverted instincts lower in them 
the standard of human excellence, and all the 
education, all the physical training or moral cul- 
ture, can never repair the wrong. 

From what has been shown, it will be seen that 



166 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

the worst effects of alcohol are those which are 
least understood and least realized, as such, by the 
people generally. 

There may be an honest difference of opinion as 
to the extent to which physicians should be held 
responsible for these terrible results. But it is 
certain that the power which the medical profes- 
sion exerts over the minds and habits of the peo- 
ple carries with it a grave responsibility. 

When we comprehend all the facts, we shall be 
almost forced to believe that the members of the 
medical profession, by so frequently prescribing 
and recommending alcoholic stimulants, have be- 
come the greatest hindrance the temperance cause 
has to-day. 

No class of people see so much of the evils of 
intoxicating drinks as physicians. The screens 
which hide so much from the world are thrown 
down for us, and we are necessarily made the con- 
fidants of our patients. 

We all can recall scenes and incidents of 
misery, degradation, and crime which we would 
gladly forget. In my own experience I have 
known many brilliant and talented men disgraced 
and ruined by intemperance, when all efforts for 
their reformation were counteracted, and the un- 
fortunate beings placed beyond the reach of their 
friends, by the fact that they took their liquors, as 



INTEMPERANCE. 167 

they always declared, by their doctor's prescrip- 
tion, and by his special order. 

With the influence which medical men now 
possess over the minds and habits of people, in- 
temperate men, shielded behind their 

doctor's prescription, 

cannot be reached by any arguments ; and the re- 
sponsibility of the wrong to them, to their families, 
and to society, must to a great extent rest upon 
the medical profession. 

It is so common for physicians to prescribe 
liquors, that the laws enacted for the suppression 
of their sale have always been weakened, and I 
might say rendered inoperative, by a clause allow- 
ing their sale for medicinal purposes. 

It is for the supposed necessity of filling physi- 
cians' prescriptions that liquors are required to 
be kept for sale; and people, reposing confidence 
in the judgment and wisdom of physicians, very 
naturally reason that, if liquors must be kept, 
and are necessary for doctors to prescribe for their 
patients upon all occasions, it might be well, if not 
necessary, for the people to take them to prevent 
sickness. 

This shows the influence which physicians have 
in fostering drinking-habits in society. It shows 



168 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

the confidence legislators and the public have re- 
posed in the knowledge and in the integrity of the 
profession ; and I submit to your own hearts 
and consciences to decide with what fidelity this 
trust and this confidence have been used. 

Now, as members of an honored profession, 
having so much to do with the habits of society, 
— with what immediately concerns the welfare of 
the people, and the great interests which are shap- 
ing the destinies of the race, — let me entreat you 
to use this influence in the right direction and for 
the good of the w r orld. 

It needs no argument to convince you that it is 
upon the medical profession, to a very great ex- 
tent, that the rumseller depends to maintain the 
respectability of the traffic. It requires only your 
own experience and observation to convince you 
that it is upon the medical profession, their pre- 
scriptions and recommendations for its use upon 
so many occasions, that the 

HABITUAL DRAM-DRINKER 

depends for the seeming respectability of his 
drinking-habits. It is upon the members of the 
medical profession, and the exceptional laws which 
it has always demanded, that the whole liquor fra- 
ternity depends, more than upon anything else, to 



INTEMPERANCE. 169 

screen it from the opprobrium and just punish- 
ment for the evils which the traffic entails upon 
society; and it is because the rumseller and the 
rumdrinker hide under the cloak of seeming re- 
spectability, that they are so difficult to reach, 
either by moral suasion or by law. 

As a result of fifty-six years of professional ex- 
perience and practical observation, I feel assured 
that alcoholic stimulants are not required as medi- 
cines ; and I believe that many, if not a majority, 
of physicians to-day, of education and experience, 
are satisfied that alcoholic stimulants, as medi- 
cines, are not necessary ; and physicians generally 
have only to overcome the force of habit, and the 
prevailing fashion in medicine, to find a more ex- 
cellent way, when they will all look back with 
wonder and surprise that they, as individuals and 
as members of an honored profession, should have 
been so far compromised with this, the greatest of 
all evils. 

CAUSE AND CURE. 

The warfare against intemperance has been 
waged for many years. Great good has been ac- 
complished, and intemperance has been checked 
in a degree ; but the cause of the difficulty has not 
been reached. The reason why we are not able 
to show better results, why people have not more 



170 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

generally accepted our logic, and joined in the 
temperance reform, is because we have not treated 
the subject with that comprehensiveness its im- 
portance demands. 

We seem to have forgotten that man has many 
faculties ; that he has appetites, passions, and pro- 
pensities, and is subject to many habits and vices, 
of which intemperance is one. Without giving 
proper attention to the combination of causes 
upon which drunkenness depends, we have treated 
it as a separate item or habit, and omitted in our 
diagnosis the various other social vices which 
cluster around it, and from which it largely de- 
rives its support. 

Fifty years ago dram-drinking was very fashion- 
able ; but it occupied its own field, and its de- 
structive tendencies were easily traced, and our 
arguments against it were understood and appre- 
ciated. This drinking-habit has now become 
associated in various ways with other vices ; and 
in our efforts to overcome it we have to contend 
with the combined power of all the social evils of 
society, as well as the depravity of the human 
heart. 

Truly man is fearfully and wonderfully made ! 
A perfect equipoise in the various departments of 
his nature is difficult to maintain ; circumstances, 
comparatively trivial in themselves, change the 



INTEMPERANCE. 171 

current of thought ; moral and religious instruc- 
tion elevates the race, while immoral influences, 
appealing to the passions and appetites, often stir 
the masses to acts of violence and lawlessness. 

This inharmony, or conflict, which St. Paul has 
so graphically portrayed, in which some element 
of man's nature is ever struggling to obtain su- 
premacy, is the real battle of life, in which every 
man is to determine his true character and the 
loyalty of his will. 

The point particularly to be noticed is the fact 
that other social vices have become contending 
factors in this struggle, and are so intimately con- 
nected with the habits and customs of life, that 
the question of intemperance can never be practi- 
cally solved till we embrace in our faith and works 
the whole nature of man, and his relations to his 
Maker. 

This being true, it is evident that we must rely, 
not so much upon legislative enactments, as upon 
the sacred teachings of morality and Christianity, 
to lift our common humanity above the influence 
of the vicious habits which have become part of 
our popular life. 

In pursuing the question of temperance from 
this standpoint, we have to deal, not only with the 
influence of the ignorant and the immoral classes, 
but we have to encounter men of 



172 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

POWERFUL INTELLECT AND HIGH CULTURE, 

as well as a large class of men more or less edu- 
cated, but whose moral conceptions do not rise to 
a high plane of thought and life, and whose real 
influence upon the temperance question sinks 
almost to the level of those who live for self- 
gratification alone. 

Upon this low plane of life, men of intelligence 
and culture, as well as the more ignorant, will 
manufacture, drink, or sell intoxicating liquors, as 
well as indulge in other vicious habits, without 
much regard for the feelings or protestations of 
those who live upon a higher plane ; and they may 
do so without fully realizing the wrong they are 
doing to themselves or to society. 

The misconception of man's real nature, and his 
duties to his fellow-man, arises from the defects 
of education, as well as from his perverse nature. 

This fact will explain how men may be sound 
and correct in certain directions, and at the same 
time weak, if not absolutely wrong, in others. We 
may then be able to account for the adverse influ- 
ence upon the temperance question of some of our 
brilliant men. We may then understand the 

MOTIVES WHICH INFLUENCE 

adverse classes of society to unite in voting against 



INTEMPERANCE. 173 

or resisting any law that restricts them in the 
gratification of their selfish desires. 

Such men feel that they have rights ; and from 
their standpoint it is not strange that prohibitory 
laws should arouse their combativeness, and bring 
into action the worst elements of strife. 

Under a free government like ours, moral power 
rises superior to political power, and public opin- 
ion is an important factor in determining the re- 
sult in a contest like that of intemperance. We 
must realize the fact that legislation in regard to 
intemperance, like that upon all moral questions, 
can be effective only so far as it is sustained by 
public sentiment. 

Wherever manufacturers, dealers, and those who 
desire the use of intoxicating liquors, are in the 
majority, they will not quietly submit to sumptu- 
ary laws; and to redeem them, and restore har- 
mony to society, we must reach their hearts and 
their better feelings, and lift them into a higher 
life. 

The solution of the problem of intemperance, 
then, means something more than prohibitory 
laws. It means harmonious development of the 
race and a higher civilization. 

If we cannot, to any great extent, reform those 
who are confirmed in habits of vice and dissipa- 
tion, let us see to it that we so direct the minds of 



174 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

the young as to achieve thereby success in the 
coming generation. 

It has become fashionable to regard drunkenness 
only as a perverted or depraved condition of the 
appetite, and, therefore, a physical disease. But 
our complex nature requires that we should en- 
large our definition ; for drunkenness involves, not 
only derangement of the physical system, but also 
perverts the intellectual and the moral. 

By a law of our nature, indulgence in low 
thoughts, for which we are responsible, encour- 
ages corresponding vice in conduct. Vicious 
thoughts always precede vicious actions. The 
man who deliberately surrenders his will to his 
appetite, and commences the habit of drinking, 
knoAving its effects, is morally guilty, even before 
the habit has produced the morbid or depraved 
condition which he afterward "fashionably" terms 
a purely physical disease. 

The guilt of drunkenness, or the commission of 
any crime, is not in the body, but in the thoughts 
and desires of the mind. There can be no drunk- 
enness, or gratification of 

APPETITE OR PASSION, 

or act of any function of the human body, without 
the consent of the mind and will. If a man's 
conduct is immoral, the consent for such immoral- 



INTEMPERANCE. 175 

ity must have come from the mind. The real 
man having control and giving the order for such 
acts must he responsible for the consequences. 
The bodily organs and functions, being under the 
control of the thoughts inspired by the mind and 
determined by the will of the individual, must be 
followed, whether they be good or bad, right or 
wrong. 

When associates meet they all think, and the 
greatest force of their combined thought will 
be likely to control or direct their actions. If 
they are living upon a high spiritual plane, their 
thoughts will protect them from evil, if they do 
not take them to church. If they are living upon 
a low plane, and their thoughts and habits of life 
unfold from the animal or carnal mind, they will 
go to the saloon or to other places of social vice. 

If drunkenness were purely physical, and came 
to us like measles and other purely physical dis- 
eases, uninvited and without our knowledge or 
consent, we could not blame a person for being 
dissipated. But drunkenness does not attack 
people in this manner. Every man intuitively 
feels that he is himself in some way culpable for 
being intemperate, for allowing his spirit, in God's 
image, to 

YIELD TO THE DEMANDS 

of his animal propensities. Some of us may have 



176 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

inherited appetites for strong drinks and other 
inharmonious conditions. But I believe there is 
always an opportunity given, when, by the power 
of our own will, and the grace of God, we may be 
redeemed and saved from its curse. A man does 
not become a drunkard unless he takes alcohol 
in some form ; and no man can take alcoholic 
liquors as a beverage, knowing their terrible con- 
sequences, without the consent of his own will. 
This consent involves his moral nature, and shows 
that the real wrong may have been in his mind 
and thoughts prior even to his taking his first glass. 
The dissipation which may follow, and become a 
habit, is but the legitimate result of surrendering 
his will and his moral sense to his appetite. 

When a man, created in God's image, yields his 
power and dominion over himself and over the 
earth to his animal propensities, he not only sacri- 
fices his own manhood, but violates God's law, 
and becomes responsible for all sinful indulgences 
and their consequences. Every drunkard feels 
ashamed of his condition, which is an acknowl- 
edgment on his part that he is culpable for not 
controlling his appetite, a feeling which he would 
not have were drunkenness a purely physical dis- 
ease. People do not consider themselves guilty 
for having measles, smallpox, or typhoid fever, or 
any other purely physical disease. 



INTEMPERANCE. 177 

With these facts before us, we cannot have 
much faith in the cure of drunkenness, a disease 
essentially moral, by the use of physical means. 
A declaration that a cure may be effected by 
drugs may impart faith to some minds, and lead 
persons to study their own natures, and thus 
bring about better conditions, and perhaps occa- 
sionally an entire reformation. But, as the real 
difficulty is moral, I fear the hope held out to 
the drunkard, by the promise of cure by the use 
of drugs, tends to divert the mind from the true 
and only cure, which lies in a change of thought 
from the animal or carnal mind to that of the 
moral and the spiritual. 

T believe it is rare that an habitual drunkard 
has been, by whatever means, permanently re- 
deemed from his cups, who was not by the grace 
of God also redeemed from its kindred habits and 
vices, leaving his soul free to rise to a higher 
life. 

The real battle of reform from drunkenness and 
all immoral and vicious habits must be fought out 
on the field of the mind and soul of the individ- 
ual ; and upon the result of this battle, and not 
upon the use of drugs, depends the salvation of 
the drunkard. 

It might not be unprofitable for the drunkard 
whose moral sense has become perverted, and his 



178 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

higher nature enslaved, to look back to the time 
when he stood a free man, and knew the conse- 
quences of a wrong choice, and the power of the 
drinking-habit to degrade him, as it has degraded 
others, to the animal plane of thought, and the 
gratification of the lower animal propensities. 

Our people are by no means satisfied with their 
social or their moral condition, and they are often 
too much excited for calm reasoning or correct 
thinking. A species of intemperance seems to 
have absorbed every element of the human mind, 
till, as a people, we have become intemperate in 
our minds, intemperate in our thoughts and feel- 
ings, intemperate in our language, intemperate in 
our amusements and in our manner of living; and 
it seems to me that much of our recreation has 
become little better than dissipation. 

With all these forms of intemperance dominat- 
ing our lives, our cities filled with all manner of 
gaming and other social vices, to take the atten- 
tion of the people from the sober realities of life, 
it is not strange that the efforts of temperance 
reformers, using their force against intemperance 
in the use of alcohol alone, have not been able to 
overcome the influence of this formidable alliance. 

It is upon this foundation that intemperance in 
the use of intoxicating liquors makes its way; and 
if we would effectually remove such intemperance, 



INTEMPERANCE. 179 

we must remove with it its associate habits and 
vices. 

Now, while we strive to make laws to purify our 
literature, to clear our cities from drinking-saloons 
and other places of social vice, let us remember 
that it is impure thoughts and unholy desires that 
lead to immoral conduct and criminal acts ; that 
it is the minds and hearts of the people, as well 
as our 

LITERATURE AND LAWS, 

that need purifying and elevating; and that, 
when this is accomplished, the higher law will 
be dominant, drinking-saloons will be abandoned, 
immoral literature spurned from society, and arbi- 
trary laws will be scarcely needed. 

We have too long allowed unfavorable sur- 
roundings to bend the twig; and after the twig 
is pretty well inclined in the wrong direction, we 
must not expect to straighten it out by law. 

The government is not likely to be better than 
the people who govern or are governed. Laws 
may assist, and should be enacted to restrain the 
unprincipled, and remove temptation from the 
weak. But we cannot look with much assurance 
to government and the laws alone to solve the 
problem of intemperance. 

We live in a time of great hope and promise. 



180 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

The various temperance societies and church or- 
ganizations are drawing out and spreading among 
the people the best thought of the age ; and when 
the fruit of such efforts is realized, good men will 
be elected to office, good laws will be enacted, and 
there will be little difficulty in their enforcement. 
The problem of intemperance, then, resolves 
into this : that men will be likely to become 
intemperate and vicious so long as their thoughts 
and habits of life unfold from their animal pro- 
pensities; and that they will be temperate and 
virtuous in proportion as their intellectual facul- 
ties and plrysical propensities are modified or con- 
trolled by their higher spiritual natures. 



NARCOTIC STIMULANTS. 



TOBACCO, 

We do not wish to magnify the evils arising 
from the use of tobacco ; but certainly it is a 
habit that does not commend itself to those who 
regard cleanliness as being next to godliness. 
But the evil does not end with its filthiness. The 
use of tobacco weakens the nervous system, blunts 
the sensibilities and intellect, and when used by 
the young retards growth. 

Leading scientific men in France, and eminent 
teachers, unite in the opinion that the use of 
tobacco is most pernicious to students, and sows 
the seeds of many fatal disorders. It is interdicted, 
if we mistake not, in the Polytechnic School. 
One of the members of the Academy of Medicine, 
in a very elaborate paper, drawn up with great 
care, asserts that "statistics show that in exact 
proportion with the increased consumption of 
tobacco is the increase of diseases of the nervous 
system, — =- insanity, general paralysis, paraplegia, 
and certain cancerous affections." 

181 



182 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

Many of its devotees are ready to acknowledge 
that its use is injurious to both body and mind, 
and are inwardly ashamed of themselves for con- 
tinuing the habit, and would gladly break them- 
selves of it if they had the courage to live a short 
time with an unsatisfied desire. But habit has 
chained them, and they continue the filthy prac- 
tice ; and boys, thinking it manly to imitate them, 
contract the habit, only to regret it in after years. 

Smoking is considered by many the most gen- 
teel mode of using tobacco, but it is undoubtedly 
the most injurious. Besides the narcotic effects 
peculiar to tobacco, its smoke contains a large 
amount of creosote, a principle common to all 
smoke. Creosote is an active poison, and is used 
by dentists to destroy nerves in decayed teeth. 
The smoke of tobacco being drawn in by the vital 
breath, its influence is almost immediately felt in 
every portion of the lungs and brain. The use of 
tobacco by young people tends to dwarf them 
physically, mentally, and morally. But its worst 
effect is least known and least noticed ; it is its 
silent destruction of the system by poisoning the 
great nerve-centres, and finally transmitting to pos- 
terity a tendency to nervous diseases. 

It is evident that paralysis, and diseases of the 
heart and nervous system, are making rapid ad- 
vance under the use of this narcotic. It is certain 



NARCOTIC STIMULANTS. lSo 

that there has been an enormous increase of in- 
sanity and diseases of the nervous centre among 
our people ; and wherever the history of such 
cases has been examined, in asylums and hospi- 
tals, or in private practice, their connection with 
the use of tobacco has been obvious. 

Mr. A., aged about fifty, a prominent business 
man in this community, has been incapacitated for 
business for several years, from the effect of to- 
bacco upon his nervous system. He has been 
under the treatment of the most celebrated physi- 
cians, and has visited different parts of the coun- 
try for his health, spending several winters in the 
South ; and every means that the best medical ad- 
vice could bestow, and wealth and influence could 
procure, have been lavished upon him in vain. 
He is still in the same deplorable condition, his 
nervous system being shattered by the continued 
use of this narcotic poison. 

We have constantly, in our practice of many 
years, had the terrible influence of this poison to 
contend with in the treatment of chronic diseases ; 
and find it a most potent agent against the estab- 
lishment of healthy action, and the regaining of 
the wonted power of mind and body. In advising 
persons to discontinue its use, we are often con- 
fronted by some of their robust friends, who de- 
clare that they have used it for twenty years, and 



184 THOUGHTS FOR TJIE PEOPLE. 

yet retain their health. This does not argue in 
favor of the use of tobacco. It is injurious to all, 
yet in the indulgence of the appetites much de- 
pends on the constitution and habits of the person. 
The amount of tobacco that may be taken with 
comparative safety by the common laborer in the 
open air, or those in whom the physical system 
predominates, would soon undermine the health 
and ruin the nervous system of the student, or 
those in whom the nervous or intellectual faculties 
predominate. 

Persons who are constitutionally adapted to in- 
tellectual labor find that excessive brain-work is 
exhausting to the vitality of the system. Hence 
many poets, authors, and orators have been led 
into the foolish habit of stimulating their brain for 
the time being, to accomplish some great success. 
But success so obtained is always at the expense 
of the constitution, and we find such persons 
breaking down in the heyda}^ of life. Clergymen 
are not wholly exempt from this fatal practice ; 
and though there may be some in the clerical pro- 
fession whose vital force is so strong that they 
may partially succeed in the ministry, and main- 
tain apparently good health under the use of this 
weed, we would recommend them to consider 
whether their constitutions are not better adapted 
to rural pursuits. We believe facts will warrant 



NARCOTIC STIMULANTS. 185 

the assertion that no person with a predominance 
of intellect and nervons excitability necessary to 
adapt him to the work of the ministry, can long 
sustain faithful labor under the baneful influence 
of tobacco. 

The Watchman and Reflector, a few years ago, 
gave an account of the departure of an ex-Congre- 
gational preacher. The writer describes him as a 
fine-looking gentleman, in the maturity of his 
manhood, who was a noble specimen of our best 
New England clergymen. He was a pastor in 
Connecticut, and was much beloved and respected 
by his hearers. But his brain gave way ; he 
found his nerves would not permit him to go on 
in his holy vocation, and he retired from his pul- 
pit, and went to Vineland for the benefit of his 
health ; and he was there regarded as one of the 
best Christian citizens. He looked hale and 
hearty ; it was the mind that was shattered. 

One of the doctors remarked to him one day, — 

" Mr. T., why do you not follow your vocation, 
and preach the gospel? You look competent to 
the task." 

" Oh," said he, "I cannot do it. I cannot com- 
pose a sermon. My mind will not permit con- 
tinuous thought. This is what keeps me from 
the work." 

In reply, the doctor said, — 



186 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

" Allow me to say, then, in all frankness, that 
this chaos of the mind is the result of your free 
use of tobacco ; and you may expect, as the next 
result, paralysis, which may wholly use you up." 

He admitted that this might be so, but could 
not and would not pledge himself to abstinence. 
The will-power of the mind was too far gone to 
cope with and break the binding chains of this 
miserable slavery. He continued the use of the 
weed, and within a few months a paralytic shock 
was experienced ; the body and mind at once fell 
into ruin. He lingered for a year or more, and 
died. 

Now, what destroyed this intellectual man, 
drove him from the pulpit, and hurried him to the 
grave in the zenith of his manhood and capabili- 
ties ? Not too much study, nor too much brain or 
heart work ; but that deadly poison, nicotine, found 
in tobacco. 

After many years' observation, we are satisfied 
that more students and ministers are broken down, 
more minds shattered into chaos and nervous irri- 
tability, by narcotics and dissipating stimulants, 
than by fasting, prayer, and earnest work. The 
body and the mind are made for work ; they will 
bear much hard, earnest, and steady labor; but 
the nervous system is delicate and complicated, 
and will bear but little abuse, and, when goaded 



NARCOTIC STIMULANTS. 187 

on to desperation by stimulation, will be sure to 
make reprisals. 

We remember a young and enterprising man, 
whose mind gave way under the influence of 
tobacco, so that he was incapable of continuous 
thought, even while in college. Leaving off its 
use for a time, his health rallied so far as to per- 
mit him to pursue his studies. After his collegi- 
ate education was finished, he decided to prepare 
for the ministry, and entered a theological school. 
But, returning to his old habit, his mind again 
became impaired. After struggling for years to 
complete his education, he finally entered the 
ministry. But, as the habit was still upon him, 
his health gave way, and his mind became again 
in the same deplorable condition. He consulted 
many physicians, with only temporary relief. We 
informed him that he could not recover the tena- 
city of his mind and continue the use of tobacco. 
He took medicine to clear the secretions and erad- 
icate its effects from the system, but he did not 
follow our instructions. We met him a few 
months after, still struggling under the terrible 
influence, apparently unable to break himself of 
the pernicious habit. 

We might cite thousands of cases of men of 
talent and culture in a similar condition, men who 
are fully aware that their misery is the result of 



188 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

the use of tobacco ; and yet their bodies, minds, 
and wills are apparently so under the influence of 
this narcotic poison that it seems as if nothing but 
the grace of God could restore them. The evils 
of the use of this weed do not stop with the shat- 
tered nerves of the person using it ; but its more 
terrible effects are poisoning the great nerve- 
centres, and transmitting to posterity a tendency 
to diseases of the nervous system ; and it would 
not take much of an anthropologist to discern in 
the children of to-day the consequences of these 
terrible habits in their progenitors. 

It is evident that the extent of the evils arising 
from the use of tobacco has not been properly 
understood by the people who use it, or even by 
those philanthropists who have raised such a ti- 
rade against it. 

Tobacco often creates a desire for the use of 
alcoholic drinks ; and the great prevalence of a 
craving thirst among inveterate smokers can be 
traced directly to the effects of tobacco upon the 
lungs and brain; and because its action is on 
those organs, and not on the stomach, the liquors 
that are drank do not alleviate the thirst, but 
often aggravate it. These facts are worthy of 
attention; and it is time that medical men, and 
reformers generally, should give this subject more 
than a passing notice. 



NARCOTIC STIMULANTS. 189 

OPIUM. 

It is estimated that there are thousands in our 
cities in the daily habit of using morphia, opium, 
or laudanum, for the purpose of intoxication. 
Opium, in its crude state, is sometimes bought, 
and greedily eaten on the spot. " They chew 
it," says one druggist, "as you would wax." 
The crude article, however, is not the favorite 
form of the drug among the confirmed opium- 
eaters. The action of morphia is much more 
rapid in its effects upon the system. The princi- 
pal desire of the inebriate is to betake himself, as 
soon as possible, to the gorgeous land of fancies, 
to which morphine at once transports him. Sul- 
phate of morphia is the favorite form of the drug, 
and it is in this state that devotees mainly use it. 

The most painful consequence of the use of 
opium is that it so soon establishes its iron rule 
over the system, that very early any deprivation 
of the wonted supply may induce indescribable 
suffering. Persons addicted to this habit find 
they have entered the slavery of a master. They 
may for a time, perhaps, be free from acute bodily 
suffering under its effects, and may imagine that 
they are happy ; but their condition is unnatural. 
Refreshing sleep becomes to them a stupor. Far- 
ther on in this downward career the victims lose 



190 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

all relish for social enjoyment. Their moral sense 
becomes deranged and diseased. Conscience ceases 
to control. A species of insanity at last becomes 
the condition of the mind, and morally and physi- 
cally they are wrecks. Worse than this, the 
deleterious effects of the habit extend to posterity ; 
and the sins of the parents are often visited upon 
the children, even unto the third and fourth gen- 
erations. 

It may be asked, What is the remedy for these 
terrible consequences ? We answer, those who 
have become addicted to the practice must stop 
it forever. But the main hope is to be looked for 
in preventing its use among those who are as yet 
innocent of the habit, by showing them the terrible 
evils consequent upon such a practice, and the 
destruction of mind and body which the use of 
this drug inevitably entails. 

How much of such evil entailed upon the 
human race can be traced to the prescriptions and 
influence of the medical profession may perhaps 
never be known. But it is known that opium in 
some form enters largely into the prescriptions 
given for almost every form of disease. We be- 
lieve a large majority of opium-eaters can trace 
their ruin directly to their physician. 

Nurses, as well as physicians, are in the habit 
of carrying this drug in some form about with 



NARCOTIC STIMULANTS. 191 

them, that, when the little ones under their charge 
manifest the least restlessness, or disposition to 
exercise their lungs, they may, by this unnatural 
and criminal means, stupefy their senses, thus 
saving themselves trouble. 

Another fruitful source of this habit is found 
in the custom of using the opium found in various 
cordials, soothing-sirups, and other nostrums with 
which the land is filled ; and God only knows 
how great a wrong has been in this way perpe- 
trated on humanity. We hope soon to see the 
medical profession free themselves from this error 
in practice, and from all participation in forming 
the habit of opium-eating or dram-drinking. 



THE PROBLEM OF HEALTH. 



The great prob±em of health has never yet been 
solved. For more than six thousand years the 
human race has existed on the earth ; many won- 
ders have been discovered in earth and sea ; the 
arts and sciences have been advanced ; the human 
mind has grasped the heavens, annihilated time 
and space, — and yet the problem of how to take 
care of our own bodies is still involved in mystery, 
and will so remain till we develop our complex 
nature, and harmonize the physical with the spirit- 
ual upon a higher plane of life. 

The study of historic man will do little to solve 
the problem of health or of human happiness. 
We must study human nature as we find it, in a 
state of moral, intellectual, and physical disorder, 
and point out the way in which we may rise from 
our inharmony of mind and body to that divine 
and celestial order in which the Creator designed 
that we should live. This will require us to look 
forward and not backward, and to exercise, not 

192 



THE PROBLEM OF HEALTH. 193 

only the intellectual, but the moral, mental, and 
spiritual parts of our natures. Before we, as a 
race, can be restored to our pristine glory, we 
must conform to the spiritual conditions of our 
being, and bring our souls into sympathy and har- 
mony with the laws of God. 

There is abundant evidence that man was cre- 
ated to live at least threescore years and ten ; and 
yet the average duration of human life does not 
exceed half that period. We certainly have doc- 
tors enough, and drugs enough, and patent medi- 
cines enough ; but death goes on, sweeping us 
away in infancy, in youth, and in middle age, 
and the problem of health remains unsolved. 

The ages seem to have contributed but little 
towards its solution ; and, until recently, human 
life as a whole has not been lengthened. Talent 
and learning have been lavished upon the subject, 
science and art have been brought to bear upon 
it; but they have never penetrated to the root of 
the maladies connected with our complex nature. 
The teachings of medical science have tended to 
sunder the mind from the body, ignoring, to a 
great extent, the power of mind over matter; 
studying the phenomena without discerning their 
combined action or reciprocal effects, or rising to 
the primary cause of the difficulty. Medical sci- 
ence has, therefore, failed in its chief object, being 



194 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

superficial, relating only to visible effects, and re- 
moving only temporary symptoms. 

True science is a knowledge of things in their 
causes. An intelligent system of medication aims 
to remove, not only the external symptoms, but 
also the causes and sources of human suffering. 
Without regard to this great aim and object, med- 
ical practice is scarcely worthy of respect, as it 
does little towards solving the great problem of 
health, or enlarging our conceptions of man's life 
and destiny. 

Physicians are inclined to be satisfied with their 
routine practice, feeling that man's physical, intel- 
lectual, and moral disorders are so complicated, 
and the various causes so diversified and obscure, 
that they cannot be reached, and brought into har- 
mony. But, under all these coverings of physical 
and moral ills, the philosophical and spiritually 
developed mind will discern the recuperative 
powers of nature ; will find the laws of God tem- 
pered with mercy ; principles, in the exercise of 
which man may rise from this state of moral 
degradation, — doubts and fears on the one hand, 
and physical suffering and premature death on the 
other, — and be lifted into a clearer light, and a 
purer atmosphere. 

But how to solve this problem is a question 
fraught with the most momentous interest. It 



THE PROBLEM OF HEALTH. 195 

certainly can never be solved by stagnant cess- 
pools, neglected drainage, and ill-ventilated apart- 
ments ; by the squalor and filth of tenement 
houses, where human beings are forced to breathe 
air contaminated by poisonous exhalations. The 
problem will not be solved by our present manner 
of living, — indulgence in rich foods at untimely 
hours, or the use of articles of consumption which 
have been injuriously adulterated at the hands of 
the manufacturers and dealers, the unhealthy 
manner of dressing, or the great social evils that 
war against the best interests of humanity. Its 
solution will never be rendered less dubious by 
drunkenness and degradation, brawls and carou- 
sals, or the more respectable intemperance of the 
man of wealth at his home board, by the use of 
tobacco or opium in their multitudinous forms, or 
by other vicious habits and practices which are 
rapidly increasing, and have become a part of the 
popular life. We cannot look for its solution in 
the alarming results attendant upon the laws of 
hereditary descent, entailing upon children and 
grandchildren an endless heritage of moral, men- 
tal, and physical misery. 

All these can never solve the problem of health, 
and yet their relation to its solution is intimate 
and vital. If disease and premature death are 
dependent upon these many and varied causes, 



196 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE 

then the problem of health will be solved in so far 
as these causes and their consequent results are 
obviated or avoided. The solution lies in a 
knowledge of, and obedience to, the laws and 
principles which govern our entire being, — a 
knowledge of the higher spiritual nature, and the 
harmony of its reciprocal action upon our physical 
organization and upon our daily life. 

It has generally been supposed that medical 
knowledge must be confined to medical men, and 
that the more ignorant the people were upon 
medical subjects, the more perfectly could physi- 
cians perform their duty. Whatever of truth 
there may have been in this supposition, it is cer- 
tain that little effort has been made by physicians 
to diffuse information among the people. It is 
not to be expected that every man can be his own 
doctor, any more than he can be his own minister, 
merchant, or mechanic. But every person should 
be so educated and instructed as to have a general 
knowledge of the laws of trade, that he may be 
able to transact business correctly ; of the laws of 
his country, that he may avoid their penalties ; of 
medicine and his physical constitution, that he 
may avoid sickness and premature death ; of his 
spiritual nature, and the principles of Christian- 
ity, that his aspirations may reach after God, and 
influence him to live a consistent Christian life. 



THE PROBLEM OF HEALTH. 197 

The supposition that a general diffusion of 
knowledge would w r ork to the disadvantage of the 
medical profession, is not true of those who use 
such means as act in harmony with the laws of 
life. I believe that a general diffusion of knowl- 
edge would promote the interest of every true 
physician, and afford the strongest possible safe- 
guard for the people against charlatans and quacks 
in the medical profession, and against imposition 
in every business department of life. 

The knowledge of medicine is the sister and 
companion of wisdom; and just so far as people 
are instructed in the nature of their formation, 
the means of preserving health, the character 
of diseases and their legitimate remedies, will 
they look with faith and confidence to the true 
physician. 

We would like to sec all possessed of sufficient 
knowledge of the human system, of diseases and 
their means of cure, of hygiene and all the laws of 
life, that in an emergency they may be able to do 
something for the relief of the sick ; or, in case of 
accident, to perform such duties as may be neces- 
sary to preserve life, at least till a physician can 
be called. 

I have known accidents where men have bled 
to death while surrounded by persons apparently 
of ordinary intelligence, when the pressure of a 



198 THOUGHTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 

finger upon the bleeding arteries would have 
stopped the blood immediately, and have saved 
their lives till the arrival of a physician to take 
up the arteries and properly dress their wounds. 

I remember being called to a person bleeding 
from the nose, after much skill had been used 
in vain in plugging the nostril with various ar- 
ticles. The bleeding in this instance was from 
the facial artery, and the pressure of the finger 
upon the blood-vessel where it passes over the 
lower jaw stopped the bleeding instantly. After 
continuing the pressure for a few minutes, till the 
open vessels were closed, there was no danger of 
further bleeding. I mention these cases here to 
show how simple and how easy it is to afford re- 
lief where a little intelligence and practical com- 
mon sense can be brought into use. 

For the solution of the problem of health, we 
must look deeper than the treatment of disease. 
A physician's duties are not confined to dispens- 
ing pills and potions, but should include the edu- 
cation of the people in all that pertains to their 
welfare. This education is not to be obtained 
altogether by instruction in medicine and hygiene, 
but by raising to a higher standard the moral as 
well as the physical nature ; by directing atten- 
tion to all those points which tend to maintain 
health, promote human happiness, better the life 



THE PROBLEM OF HEALTH. 199 

of the individual, and improve the general well- 
being of society. 

Nations are made up of individuals, each in 
some degree affecting the whole body. As are 
the individuals, so will the nation be. In indi- 
viduals, disease of any limb or organ affects the 
whole system. In nations, ignorance and vice 
cannot be confined to individual sufferers. A 
neglect of sanitary precautions, filthy houses and 
surroundings, breed squalid people, foster disease, 
poverty, immorality, and crime. Ignorance makes 
superstition possible, superstition makes true re- 
ligion impossible ; and where superstition and 
irreligion prevail, the true interests of community 
are not regarded, and the problem of health must 
consequently remain a mystery. 

It is apparent that each person, if he would live 
out his allotted time, must be to some extent his 
brother's keeper. The old question is still re- 
peated, " Am I my brother's keeper ? " It is not 
necessary that we should rise up and veritably 
slay our brother for his blood to cry out against 
us. I am my brother's keeper that he injure not 
his own health, or take his own life through igno- 
rance, when it is within my power to enlighten 
him. This is what each man should feel, for it is 
the true process of reasoning; and, believing that 
I am my brother's keeper, I have, to the best 



200 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

of my ability, shown him rather how to prevent 
than to cure disease. I have endeavored to incul- 
cate into the minds of the people that it is far 
better, far more meritorious, to keep the enemy 
out of the field, than to vanquish him in battle ; 
that it is better to avoid than to heal sickness, 
and to save to the individual and the community 
the time, the money, and the suffering which are 
the penalties of negligent or ignorant violation 
of the laws of health ; and, where the sins of the 
parents are visited upon the children, to enable 
these innocent sufferers to counteract as far as 
possible the effects of their hereditary predisposi- 
tions, and render them better fitted to bear their 
misfortune. 

The proper authority should always see that 
oar cities and villages, and their surroundings, are 
kept clean and wholesome. A neglect of this 
duty may be followed at any time by contagious 
diseases, which may spread and endanger the lives 
of those who think themselves most fortunate, and 
who are not willing to acknowledge the common 
brotherhood of man, or act upon the higher law 
that makes us all our brother's keeper. 

Until the principle of this higher law of our 
nature is understood, and universally acted upon, 
we shall never be free from physical and moral 
ills, and the problem of health will not be solved. 



THE PROBLEM OF HEALTH. 201 

Health of body is so intimately connected with 
the aims and objects of life, and with the spiritual 
nature of man, that the question can never be 
solved except by embracing in our faith and works 
the whole nature of man, and his relations to his 
Maker. When men will recognize the fundamen- 
tal principle of our being, and universally act 
upon it, following the precepts of our Saviour, 
doing to others as we would that others should do 
unto us, we shall be saved, body and soul, and the 
problem of health and human happiness will be 
solved. 

I have spoken with the utmost freedom upon 
what I believe to be the great causes of suffering, 
disease, and death among our people ; and if I 
have been unduly severe in my treatment of the 
baneful habits and ruinous practices indulged in 
so widely at the present day, I make no apology, 
believing that all who are not for the right are 
against it, and that he who countenances physical 
or moral wrong opposes improvement and reform, 
and by his acts proves recreant to the welfare of 
his people. 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 



DRAINAGE. 

Drainage has occupied the attention of most 
civilized nations. The records of ancient history 
prove that, as the sanitary condition of the people 
was regarded, its importance became recognized. 
Previous to the introduction of drains and sewers 
in cities, it was customary to remove, by means 
of carts and hand conveyances, all kinds of offal 
and filth to the country, some water-course, or 
other general depository. This was sometimes 
done by the occupants of houses, who took it 
directly from their premises, or threw it into the 
streets, whence it was removed by the public 
authorities, sometimes not for clays or weeks. 
This filthy condition of the cities may be consid- 
ered one of the principal causes of the dreadful 
ravages of disease during the Middle Ages and 
during the last century. 

It can hardly be asserted that in regard to the 
sewerage of cities and large towns modern civiliza- 
tion has made much progress. Rome, six centu- 
202 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 203 

ries before the Christian era, with less than two 
millions of inhabitants, had a system of sewerage 
that would compare favorably with that of Boston 
or New York. Tarqninius Priscus (B.C. 635) 
built the cloaca maxima. Its foundations were 
laid forty feet under ground; and its branches 
were carried under a great part of the city, and 
concentrated in one grand trunk, which discharged 
itself into the Tiber, west of the Capitoline Hill. 
It was formed by three arches, one within the 
other, the innermost of which was a semicircular 
vault, fourteen feet in diameter. Its mouth, 
where it enters the Tiber, still exists. A cart 
loaded with hay could pass through it. Agrippa, 
when he cleansed the sewers, passed through them 
in a boat. 

Agrigentum (B.C. 480) was also celebrated for 
the extent of its sewers. Jerusalem, the City of 
the Great King, had an admirable system of sewer- 
age; and its water-works are scarcely surpassed 
by those of the Schuylkill, Croton, or Cochituate 
of our time. 

With all our boasted advancement in literature, 
art, and science, it is humiliating that the impor- 
tant consideration of drainage has received so little 
attention, and the facilities for draining have been 
so little improved. 

I believe that much sickness, suffering, and 



204 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

death might be prevented by a thorough examina- 
tion into their causes, and by an intelligent under- 
standing and enforcement of the conditions and 
the laws of sanitary science. These subjects have 
not secured that attention from the authorities, 
from physicians, or from the people generally, 
that their importance demands. It is true that 
frequent warnings have been given by physicians 
and through the press regarding the danger of 
defective drainage, or of not properly disposing 
of house waste ; and yet many housekeepers live 
in utter neglect of all precautions, and kitchen 
drains and cesspools send forth their poisonous, 
emanations, and general ill health and frequent 
fevers and death are the result. 

The immediate and fatal effects of such neglect 
are perhaps more apparent during the hot season ; 
but they are always disastrous to health. Scar- 
latina, diphtheria, typhoid fever, and other mani- 
festations of disease, often prevail to such an 
extent as to spread consternation, terror, and 
death through neighborhoods, villages, and cities ; 
and, notwithstanding the apparently mysterious 
character of some of these maladies, there seems 
to be no doubt that their prevalence is largely 
owing to causes which are within the control of 
the sanitary agencies which should be possessed 
and enforced in every community. Defective and 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 205 

deficient sewerage and ventilation are the evils 
that produce that subtle poison which generates 
in the air, and which is so fatal because it is 
breathed directly into the system, and attacks the 
very citadel of life. We shall therefore find no 
antidote so effective as attention to the ordinary 
hygienic conditions with which we should all be 
familiar. True science will demonstrate the cir- 
cumstances under which this class of diseases is 
produced ; and medicine, in harmony with nature's 
laws, may reveal the true mode of treatment. But 
observation of proper sanitary laws is the best pre- 
vention of disease, and the only efficient protection 
for any community. 

In large cities the perfection of the system of 
sewerage is of the utmost importance. As these 
sewers extend through the whole city, the conse- 
quences of a defect in them are wide and lasting. 
The gases from them are of the most noxious kind, 
their poisons are most detrimental to persons who 
are obliged to inhale them, and without the utmost 
care they will work their way into dwellings. 

The action of wind and tide upon the outlets 
of sewers often creates a pressure which forces 
these gases through cesspools into many of our 
houses, necessitating the provision of some venti- 
lation or outlet to relieve this pressure. In Boston 
this has been partially accomplished by omitting 



206 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

the usual cesspool, and opening the water-conduc- 
tors directly into the common sewer; and there 
are now twenty thousand of these opening in this 
manner, the upper ends of some of which are so 
situated as to discharge these foul odors near the 
windows of sleeping apartments. The vitiated 
material contained in these gases, mixing with the 
atmospheric air, gradually descends towards the 
earth, to exert its baleful influence upon pedes- 
trians, as well as the inmates of houses. 

The bad air from sewers is, however, not simply 
injurious when it escapes directly into houses ; it 
is hardly less so in going out through its natural 
outlets on the skirts of the city, where it poisons 
the atmosphere, and being blown about, becomes 
a fruitful source of general ill health to the people. 
Instead of sewerage being discharged on river-flats 
or about wharves, it should be carried down to 
deep water. When this is not practical, instead 
of ventilation through water-conductors, sewers 
should be extended to some convenient locality 
out of the thickly settled portion of the city, 
where ample means should be provided for their 
ventilation through disinfectants or filters, which 
would neutralize the noxious gases, and allow 
only pure air to pass. 

The necessity of drainage is by no means con- 
fined to cities and dwellings. The importance of 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 207 

the system renders it necessary to extend our in- 
vestigations, and include all localities where it is 
necessary to prevent the stagnation of water, or 
the premature decay of vegetable matter. The 
necessity of this view of the subject is proved by 
the fact that in the low, swampy parts of our 
Western States fever and ague prevail to such an 
extent as to become a fearful calamity. But 
when the land is drained and cleared, and the 
sunlight, with its vivifying influence, allowed to 
penetrate, the same districts become healthy, and 
such diseases almost entirely disappear. It is safe 
to assert that most of the low, putrid forms of 
disease, which have prevailed to such an alarming 
extent, and which have been supposed to be con- 
tagious, are only epidemic, manifesting themselves 
in such localities, and attacking such individuals, 
as are found most susceptible to their influence ; 
the disease, in each individual case, being pro- 
duced by the same general cause, and not trans- 
mitted from one person to another, as is the case 
with contagious diseases. The fact that many 
persons in the same neighborhood have been at- 
tacked simultaneously, and that several persons 
in the same family have taken the disease, one 
after another, does not disprove this assertion. 
Such diseases are epidemic, and the result of the 
same general cause, manifestly, to a great extent, 



208 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

under the control of man, and which might have 
been removed, and such fearful consequences 
avoided. 

If such diseases are not wholly produced by- 
causes within our reach, they are certainly aggra- 
vated and rendered more fatal by the foul emana- 
tions which are the result of neglect of sanitary 
laws. 

Whatever may be the primary cause of this class 
of diseases, it is certain that there are various ex- 
citing causes acting upon the system in certain 
localities, and at particular times, which make 
them more putrid and fatal, and which cause 
them to spread through families or neighborhoods. 
From this fact many have been led to suppose 
them contagious ; but careful observation has dis- 
covered that there is no manifestation of contagion 
in their operation. Pure air is necessary to health ; 
and we cannot breathe vitiated air without con- 
taminating the blood, and filling the system with 
accumulations of morbid material, which tend to 
produce ill health and shorten human life. 

Buildings erected upon land artificially made by 
filling up low, wet places with a mixture of filth 
and soil are exceedingly unhealthy. The same is 
true in cities where the filth of the bays and inlets 
has been filled in for building purposes. Boston 
has been remarkable for its progress in this direc- 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 209 

tion. Mountains have been "removed and cast 
into the sea, and the sea made dry land." In this 
way thousands of acres have been reclaimed from 
the sea, and thousands of dwellings have been 
built thereon ; but we fear that, where there has 
been a large quantity of filth at the bottom, it will 
prove injurious to the health of the citizens, and 
react upon the prosperity of the city. 

The saying, " there is nothing hidden that shall 
not be revealed," is nowhere more perfectly dem- 
onstrated than in this instance. There is a con- 
tinual foul odor emanating from land thus made ; 
and not only the odor, but the filth and corruption, 
must inevitably come to the surface. The effects 
of such emanations may often be seen in the 
stained and discolored walls of the basement 
rooms. Persons dwelling in such unwholesome 
houses lose their appetite, become listless and en- 
feebled, the health gradually fails ; and, if they do 
not seek a more healthy location, they will be 
likely to become confirmed invalids. 

In our large cities it is a common practice to 
bestow great care upon the sanitary condition of 
streets and sewers in portions of the city occupied 
by the more fortunate class of citizens, and to 
allow portions occupied by the poor and unfortu- 
nate to become filthy and unwholesome. But this 
is a great mistake. The squalid regions should 



210 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

receive by far the larger share of public attention, 
not only because they are occupied by a far larger 
number of people on an equal space, but by people 
who, on account of their ignorance and poverty, 
are much less cleanly in their habits and in the 
care of their dwellings. These portions of the 
city should be kept in perfect order, and no accu- 
mulation of filth should be allowed in the streets 
and alleys. And our care should not stop outside 
these dwellings of poverty. People who do not 
exercise the least care in regard to the sanitary 
condition of their dwellings should be cared for by 
the city fathers ; and every dwelling that is unfit 
for habitation should be immediately put in proper 
sanitary condition, or removed. This care is not 
alone a matter of charity towards the poor, but of 
self-protection to the community. The foul, fetid 
gases which arise in the overcrowded and neg- 
lected districts bear the seeds of disease and death, 
not only to the starved denizens of these wretched 
dwellings, but are carried on the wings of the 
wind to every street and avenue, invading the 
mansions of the rich as well as the dwellings of 
the poor. We should not be slow to learn and to 
realize that the law of common humanity is also 
a law of compensation, and will distribute its re- 
venge as well as its reward ; and that neglect of 
duty towards the poor and destitute will surely 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 211 

revenge itself upon every community which does 
not insist upon the enforcement of proper sanitary 
laws. We must make all parts of the city clean 
and wholesome, and permit no hot-beds of disease 
to reek and fester in our streets or in our 
borders. When we, as a people, fully learn this 
great lesson of humanity and of common prudence, 
we shall have reached one of the most important 
points of all past investigation upon the subject of 
sanitary science. 

THE COUNTRY. 

The same causes which increase the rates of 
mortality in our large cities act to a certain ex- 
tent in every village and every farm-house. The 
air is more or less poisoned by filth wherever 
drains are neglected, and the waste matter of 
houses and yards is allowed to emit its baleful 
emanations. From a neglect of proper sanitary 
regulations, many comparatively small villages are 
rendered more unhealthy than large cities. Hotels 
and boarding-houses at the seaside and other 
places of public resort, where people have gone for 
rest and recreation, have become hospitals for the 
sick by defective drainage and the accumulation 
of filth about the buildings. Let hotel and board- 
ing-house keepers, as well as private families, give 
special attention to the matter of cleanliness, out- 
side as well as inside their dwellings. 



212 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

CELLARS. 

Fever and other fatal diseases are often caused 
by foul air from dark, damp, and unventilated 
cellars. Confined air, without the purifying influ- 
ence of sunlight, soon becomes impure and un- 
wholesome. Cellars often serve as reservoirs for 
impure air, which, in addition, is often loaded 
with decomposed organic matter and foul gases, 
from the masses of decaying vegetables with 
which they are stored. Cellars should be kept 
as clean, pure, and well-ventilated as any portion 
of the house. 

We must recognize the fact that every house, 
village, and neighborhood breeds its own epidemic, 
and needs its sanitary protection. It is not 
enough to have doctors and apothecaries ; they are 
called on after the mischief is done. A little wis- 
dom, a little forethought, a little care, and a tri- 
fling expense, might have rendered their services 
unnecessary. Where we find disease or general 
ill health prevailing in any household or neighbor- 
hood, we may well suspect that it is dependent 
upon some local cause, for which somebody ought 
to be responsible. It may seem improper to inter- 
fere with a neighbor's yard, or sink-drain, or cess- 
pool, and especially with his in-door arrangements ; 
but if it be the means of saving the lives of your 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 213 

children and those of your neighbors, it is cer- 
tainly somebody's business to interfere, and abate 
such nuisances. If epidemic diseases are not pro- 
duced by such influences directly, they certainly 
are rendered more malignant and fatal. The true 
course, then, is to appoint an efficient sanitary 
committee, have an examination, make a report, 
and then go to work in earnest to make such 
reforms as may be needed. A few days' labor, 
and a few dollars expended, may save lives that 
we would not have lost for millions. 

VENTILATION. 

The subject of ventilation is not properly under- 
stood, or, if comprehended, its laws are not re- 
garded. Our houses, halls, and churches are 
constructed without sufficient regard to the fact 
that fresh air is necessary for the preservation of 
life and health. The arterialization of the blood 
in the lungs is essentially dependent on the sup- 
ply of oxygen contained in the air which we 
breathe ; and that air is fit or unfit for respiration 
in exact proportion as its quantity of oxygen ap- 
proaches to, or differs from, that contained in pure 
atmospheric air. 

The report of our board of health has few more 
interesting revelations than those which relate to 
the evil effects of bad air. In fact, there are few 



214 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

of the evils alluded to in this view of the sanitary 
condition of our cities that are not in some way 
connected with an impure condition of the air. 
All decomposition and decay necessarily affect the 
purity of the atmosphere ; and the very act of 
breathing in a confined space vitiates the air, and 
makes it unfit for the purposes of our animal 
economy. The ventilation of our schoolhouses is 
therefore of primary importance. It appears that 
the proportion of carbonic acid in the atmosphere 
of our schoolrooms averages 1.18, while it has 
been shown by eminent English and German sani- 
tarians that the amount becomes injurious when it 
reaches 0.6 or 0.7 per thousand, the proportion in 
pure air being 0.4 per thousand. An analysis of 
the particles of dust that float in the air of our 
schoolrooms shows them to be the result of the 
changes which are constantly going on in our 
social economy, and which require to be neutral- 
ized by an abundant supply of fresh air. Some of 
these minute substances are not easily seen ; and it 
is these organic elements, exuding from the lungs 
and the skin, which are even more injurious than 
the effluvia which comes from the clothing of the 
scholars. It was noticeable that in those school- 
rooms where carbonic acid impurity was most 
marked, there was also the most offensive odor, 
showing that the pollution of the air is greatest 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 215 

among those classes who are least attentive to the 
laws of cleanliness. 

Our sleeping apartments, where we all spend 
about one-third part of our lives, should be large 
and well ventilated, and should be constantly sup- 
plied with pure air. It may not be well to allow 
it to blow directly upon us ; it may be admitted 
from a window behind a screen, or into an adjoin- 
ing apartment, and thence through an open door 
into the room. The importance of securing free 
ventilation will be seen when we reflect that the 
demand for air for a single person is, upon an 
average, about seven cubic feet a minute. Sup- 
pose, now, that a sleeping-room contains two 
thousand cubic feet. A person goes into such a 
room, and closes the door, and the supply lasts the 
occupant about five hours ; and for the remainder 
of the night he must continue to breathe over and 
over again the same air, which could not sustain 
life were the room perfectly tight. He is kept 
alive by being partially supplied with air through 
the crevices in the walls and about the doors and 
windows. But a person spending the night in this 
manner is not refreshed; and a continued habit of 
sleeping in a contracted and ill-ventilated room 
will in time induce headache, dizziness, dyspepsia, 
and a host of kindred diseases. 

Now, let us keep these facts in view in an ex- 



216 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

animation of our modes of ventilation. We inhale 
oxygen, or vital air, and throw off carbonic acid 
gas, — a gas which, being specifically heavier than 
pure air, when left undisturbed will settle to the 
bottom of the room, as it does in deep cellars, 
wells, and mines, where, if inhaled, it often proves 
destructive to life. Sudden deaths may not often 
occur in our living- or sleeping-rooms from inhala- 
tion of vitiated air. The evil, however, is none 
the less fatal ; it does its work slowly, it may be, 
but surely. The system of ventilation adopted 
in our private and public buildings is radically 
defective. The old-fashioned fireplace was a good 
ventilator, and to it may in a great measure be 
attributed the fact that the mothers and daughters 
of the past generation were healthier and ruddier 
than the enfeebled matrons and sallow-complex- 
ioned daughters of the present day. 

When we closed up the old-fashioned fireplace, 
we neglected to provide a substitute ; and much 
sickness, suffering, and ill health have been the 
result. What is really needed in every building, 
public or private, are two compartments, built in 
connection with the chimney, for ventilation; one 
of them being near the flue, so as to be contin- 
ually kept warm, the other away from it, where 
the air in it will be kept cool. Every room 
should ventilate at the bottom into the cold-air 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 217 

flue, so as to let the carbonic acid gas, which is 
heavier than the atmospheric air, and settles to 
the bottom of the room, pass down to the earth; 
and from near the top of each room into the 
warm-air flue, to allow the impurities and gases 
which are lighter than the air, and which always 
rise to the top, to pass off into upper space. 

On winter evenings, when gaslight is used, — 
the gas being also a rapid consumer of oxygen, — 
in the ball-room, public assembly, church, or lec- 
ture-room, we suffer seriously from the impurity 
of the atmosphere in consequence of imperfect 
ventilation ; and, instead of emerging from the 
winter season with invigorated health, spring gen- 
erally finds us weakened and debilitated. By the 
exercise of a little intelligence and common sense, 
we may so regulate our habits and conduct as to 
avoid much of the physical and moral evils under 
which we are now suffering. We commend this 
subject to the earnest attention of our school 
committee, to parents, guardians, and teachers 
everywhere ; and we hope it will receive some- 
thing more than a passing notice. 

DISINFECTANTS AND DEODORIZERS. 

Infection and foul odors cause a variety of 
diseases. They both arise from decomposition 
and decay of vegetable or animal matter, or both. 



218 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

To deodorize is to take away the bad smell. To 
disinfect is not only to do this, bnt to arrest the 
progress of decay, and thus cut off the supply of 
a bad odor. Our grandmothers thought they got 
rid of the ill odor of a sick-room by burning brown 
sugar or tar. This gave a strong and more agree- 
able odor; it overpowered the other, so that it 
was not perceived, but did not destroy it. Both 
odors were really present ; and the air was equally 
impure, only more agreeable to the senses. Hence, 
to deodorize foul air in a room or locality intelli- 
gently, substances must be used which, by causing 
a new chemical combination, destroy the odor 
altogether; but if the decomposition continues to 
go on, other odoriferous particles begin to arise, 
requiring a new application of the deodorizer. 
On this account all deodorizers are efficient only 
temporarily; hence the only rational method is 
either to remove the offending material, or employ 
disinfectants which arrest further decay. If the 
material both arrests the decay and destroys or 
absorbs the offensive odor, it is doubly valuable. 
Two hundred grains of chloride of zinc in one 
gallon of water is a powerful agent in neutraliz- 
ing bad smells, and in arresting both animal and 
vegetable decomposition in ships, hospitals, dis- 
secting-rooms, cellars, privies, and water-closets, 
without having any bad odor of its own. For 



SANITARY SCIENCE. 219 

disinfecting purposes, mix one pint of the above 
fluid with four gallons of water. 

There are three powerful disinfectants — car- 
bolic acid (with an objectionable smell), chlorine, 
and permanganate of potash. These last two are 
quite expensive. These disinfectants act by com- 
bining with deleterious substances and rendering 
them harmless, while antiseptics prevent and 
arrest the decomposition of animal substances. 

The only effectual way of disinfecting an un- 
healthy locality is to remove the cause of the 
trouble, and prevent its recurrence by thorough 
ventilation and habitual cleanliness. 

The most common and available disinfectant 
and deodorizer is copperas, — crude copperas, — 
sold by druggists at a few cents a pound, under 
the name of -sulphate of iron; one pound in two 
gallons of water, used as often as necessary, will 
render all odors imperceptible, acting at the same 
time as an antiseptic, deodorizer, and disinfectant. 
For disinfecting cesspools and water-closets noth- 
ing can be better. By this means the most filthy 
water-closet may in a few moments be rendered as 
sweet as any part of the house. 

On board ships and steamboats, about hotels 
and other public places, there is nothing better to 
purify the air. Simple copperas, in a vessel with 
sufficient water to dissolve it, and placed in the 



220 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

room, will render a hospital, or other place for the 
sick, free from unpleasant smells. In butchers' 
stalls, fish-markets, slaughter-houses, sinks, and 
wherever there are offensive putrid gases, dissolve 
copperas, and sprinkle it about, and the smell will 
soon pass away. 



VALUE OF SUNLIGHT. 



The proper use of sunlight, and its relations 
to human life and the well-being of society, have 
never been made the subject of intelligent and 
scientific thought. 

Light is one of the most active agencies in 
enlivening and beautifying our homes and the 
material world around us. People do not suffi- 
ciently realize the value of sunlight as a health- 
giving agent to the physical system, or of its 
importance to our moral and spiritual natures. 
We absorb light, and it nourishes us with strange 
power. We are more active under its influence, 
can think better, and work more vigorously. 

And yet the object of many mothers and nurses 
seems to be to devise means to keep the sunlight 
from their dwellings. All persons must know, if 
they do not realize, that shutting out the light of 
the sun is a direct violation of nature's laws, for 
which the community pays dearly in sickness and 
loss of life. Care should be taken, both in health 
and sickness, to insure a large amount of direct 
221 



222 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

sunlight, if possible, to all the inmates of every 
dwelling. Parents and nurses should remember 
that it is impossible to rear well-formed, strong, 
and robust children unless attention is paid to 
this requirement. Sunlight is particularly impor- 
tant in childhood and to persons of low vitality. 
In all diseases characterized by a deficiency of vi- 
tal power, the rays of the sun should be allowed 
to act directly upon the person every day. It 
may not be well to allow its rays to fall directly 
upon the head; but its vivifying effects upon the 
body and limbs, and also upon the mind, are won- 
derful, and should not be neglected. In conva- 
lescence from almost all diseases, the light of the 
sun acts as a most powerful and healthful stimu- 
lant, both to the mental and physical systems. It 
may often be necessary that sick persons should 
be kept quiet, and away from the noise and ex- 
citement of company ; but I insist upon it that 
they should not be deprived of the smiling coun- 
tenance of that old friend and nurse — the sun. 
It may be necessary in diseases of the eye to ex- 
clude the light for a time. But the evil effects of 
keeping invalids in darkness and obscurity cannot 
be too carefully guarded against. The weakness 
and depression of spirits which are so often met 
with in convalescents kept in the dark disappear 
like magic when the rays of the sun are allowed 



VALUE OF SUNLIGHT. 223 

to enter the chambers. Wounds of every kind 
heal with greater rapidity when the diffused light 
of the solar rays is allowed to shine directly upon 
the person. It has always been a subject of no- 
tice by physicians who interest themselves in the 
sanitary condition of society, that in hospitals, pa- 
tients occupying the sunny side of the buildings 
recover much more rapidly than those in less fa- 
vored rooms. In epidemics of all kinds, persons 
living upon the sunny side of streets, or in sunny 
localities, have escaped with comparatively little 
sickness ; while the inhabitants of the shady side 
of streets and dark alleys have suffered a terrible 
penalty for a violation of this law of life. God 
has supplied sunlight sufficient for all the crea- 
tures of his hand ; and so long as we refuse to ac- 
cept of it, and insist upon building our habitations 
and cities in violation of this law, so long will we 
pay the penalty by ill health and premature death. 
Plants cannot be perfected without the vivify- 
ing influence of sunlight. Rooms from which 
light and air are excluded will accumulate ele- 
ments that engender disease and death. Dark 
rooms always bring depression of spirits, impart- 
ing a sense of confinement, of isolation, of power- 
lessness, which is chilling and deadening to the 
energy of both body and mind. It is a fearful 
mistake to curtain and blind windows so closely, 



224 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

for fear of injuring the furniture by exposure to 
the sun's rays. 

Let us have light, and fresh air too, and pre- 
vent, if possible, suffering the penalty of aches 
and pains and long doctors' bills. Let us take 
the airiest, choicest, and sunniest rooms in the 
house for our living-rooms, — the workshop where 
brain and body are built up and renewed. Let 
us have as many windows as we can, through 
which the sunlight and pure air can freely enter. 
To me these windows mean much more than was 
ever intended or dreamed of by the architect. 
They are the poems of the house. They serve to 
bring out and develop the hidden power of the 
soul, and give scope and freedom to the eye and 
to the mind. 

Let us have light, bright countenances, and 
cheerful hearts in all our homes ; and if our car- 
pets are a little faded, let us raise our eyes to 
the open windows, and take a view of the fields 
clothed in beauty, or the heavens radiant with 
glorious light. 

Let us live in the light, and insist upon the 
light and life-giving influence of the sun in our 
dwellings, in our churches, and in all our places 
of resort. 

It is still more important to us, as spiritual 
beings, that we receive into the " home we live 



VALUE OF SUNLIGHT. 225 

in " light from the Sun of righteousness. Let 
us open wide the windows of our hearts, brush 
away the cobwebs of sin by the atonement of our 
Saviour, and live and walk in the light, that when 
we have finished our course in this world of light 
and shade, we may be accounted worthy of ac- 
ceptance in that better world, where we hope to 
enjoy the light and the substance, without the 
shade and the shadow. 



IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP. 



As daylight and darkness are the unalterable 
law of nature, so, in harmony with this law, we 
find motion and rest, activity and repose, essential 
to our existence. As all motion implies waste of 
substance, the continued activity of body and 
mind would soon wear them out if there were 
not some means provided for their restoration. 

Thousands of busy people ruin the health, and 
many die every year, for want of sleep. Sleepless- 
ness often becomes a habit, and is very injurious 
to health. It sometimes results from disease, 
showing unmistakable evidence of a breaking 
down of the mental powers, and is often a pre- 
cursor of insanity. When it does not reach that 
sad result, it is still full of peril, as well as of 
suffering. Thousands of men have been indebted 
for bad bargains, for lack of courage, and ineffec- 
tiveness, to loss of sleep. 

It is curious that all the popular poetical repre- 
sentations of sleeping and waking are the reverse 
of the truth. We speak of sleep as the image of 
226 . 



IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP. 227 

death, and our waking hours as the image of life. 
But the activity is the result of some form of de- 
composition in the body. Every thought, still 
more every motion or volition, wastes some part 
of the nervous substance, precisely as flame is pro- 
duced by wasting the fuel. It is the death of 
some part of the physical substance that produces 
the phenomena of intelligent and voluntary life. 

On the other hand, sleep is not like death ; it 
is the period in which the waste of the system is 
reduced to its minimum. Healthy and natural 
sleep repairs the waste which the waking hours 
have made. It rebuilds the system. The night 
is the repair-shop of the body. In the relaxed 
condition of the system during natural sleep, 
every part is silently overhauled, and all the or-^ 
gans, tissues, and substances are replenished. 
Waking consumes, sleep replaces ; waking ex- 
hausts, sleep repairs. 

The perfect adaptation of means to ends, and 
the economy which is manifested in all nature, are 
beautifully shown in the processes by which this 
renovation of the system is carried on. The 
amount of vital force necessarily expended in the 
labors of the day is, during sleep, employed to in- 
crease the involuntary processes ; thus the func- 
tions of the nutritive system are carried on with 
more vigor, the circulation of the blood and other 



228 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

fluids of the economy is greatly facilitated. The 
diminished action of the ganglionic nerves of mo- 
tion and sensation affords an increased supply of 
cerebral stimulus to the secretory and execu- 
tory organs, and the waste and worn-out particles 
are, during sleep, thrown off from the system in 
greater profusion ; while, at the same time, the 
process of rebuilding the system goes on with 
increased activity. In this manner the system is 
at night renovated, and prepared for the labor of 
the ensuing day. 

We live by a process of destruction. Force 
in the human body is manifested by the decompo- 
sition of its component particles. Life manifests 
itself as a result of chemical decomposition of 
particles ; and as these particles or cells are de- 
stroyed and devitalized, they must be removed, 
and their places supplied by new cells. 

During the daytime the amount of vital force 
expended counterbalances, or rather uses up, the 
material prepared by digestion and assimilation. 
But at night, when the expenditure of force in 
voluntary life is at its minimum, not only is the 
blood freed from the impurities of worn-out and 
broken-down particles, but new tissue is formed. 
We grow mostly during sleep ; for then the prod- 
ucts of nutrition, which during the day are used 
in replacing the constant waste of the system, are 



IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP. 229 

employed in building new tissue. A child eats 
and sleeps far more in proportion than the adult; 
and this surplus of nutrition is expended in build- 
ing up, or growing. 

That the system may be properly repaired dur- 
ing sleep, the material must be received and 
digested during the day. Food to be in a proper 
condition to supply and rebuild the system must 
be taken and digested during the waking hours. 

That digestion may go on during sleep cannot 
be doubted, as any organ of the economy may for 
a time be forced to perform more than its normal 
amount of labor. But the stomach, after perform- 
ing its work during the day, requires rest at 
night; and although digestion may go on, sleep 
will be disturbed and unref resiling. Thus, by a 
reciprocity of action, both are rendered imperfect 
and unsatisfactory. 

The brain and nervous system are also built up 
and restored only during sleep. 

The man who sleeps little repairs little ; if he 
sleeps poorly, he repairs poorly. If he uses up 
in a day less than he accumulates at night, he will 
gain in health and vigor. If he uses more by day 
than he gathers at night, he will lose. And if 
this loss be long continued, he will succumb. A 
man who would be a good worker must see to it 
that he is a good sleeper. An eminent divine 



230 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

has compared human life to a mill, sometimes 
the stream being so copious that one needs care 
but little about its supply. Often the stream that 
turns the mill needs to be economized. A dam 
is built to hold a larger supply. The mill may 
run the pond low through the day ; but, by shut- 
ting the gate at night, the pond refills, and the 
wheels go merrily round again the next day. 

A man has as much force in him as he has pro- 
vided for by sleep and the proper assimilation of 
food. The quality of action, especially mental 
activity, depends upon the quality of sleep and 
nutrition. 

Such being the necessities of the case, and the 
inexorable law of nature, it behooves us, as ra- 
tional beings, to study and obey the laws that 
govern our physical and mental organization. 
The importance of sleep as a recuperative agent 
has been almost entirely overlooked ; and many, 
even among the learned, act as if they thought 
sleep of but little consequence, and the time so 
spent lost. But nature has decided otherwise. 
The integrity of neither body nor mind can be 
long maintained without sleep. Health, happi- 
ness, strength of mind, and personal beauty are 
as dependent upon sleep as upon any other re- 
quirement of the animal economy. When the 
whole organization is in a normal condition, and 



IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP. 231 

becomes wearied, " Tired Nature's sweet restorer, 
balmy sleep," steals over us almost unconsciously; 
our systems are renewed, and we awake to new 
life and joy. But when the mind is overtaxed, 
and the body invaded by disease, sleep often 
refuses her aid, and the whole system begins to 
languish. If the disease is removed, and the sys- 
tem again brought into harmony, sleep comes to 
our aid, and health is restored. 

The time spent in sleep is not always a true 
measure of the amount of rest, for sleep va- 
ries much in the degree of its completeness ; 
there is a slumber so disturbed that we are unre- 
freshed by it, and a sleep so profound that we 
awake weary. Such conditions of the system are 
the result of physical disease, or some inharmony 
of mind and body, and should warn us of ap- 
proaching danger, which should demand imme- 
diate attention. 

But as sleep is an absolute necessity of our 
being, and as nothing can compensate us for its 
loss, it becomes a duty to provide for ourselves, 
and those under our care, the best possible means 
for supplying the needed quantity of refreshing 
and undisturbed sleep. We know that certain 
conditions tend to induce sleep, but at times it 
comes to us without such favorable conditions and 
even in spite of ourselves. Sleep is a fickle god- 



232 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

(less, of which we know nothing except by its man- 
ifestation. We may by opiates produce a kind of 
stupor, — a condition in some respects resembling 
sleep ; and sleep may come to us while under the 
effects of opium. But the stupor produced by 
that drug is not sleep. Sleep is as much a mys- 
tery as life, and is beyond our control. It cannot 
be induced by any active or positive state of the 
will; it is only when the whole system is in an 
harmonious state, when every obstacle to it is re- 
moved, that it steals over us spontaneously. We 
know not from whence it comes or whither it 
goeth; we only know that under its magic in- 
fluence we receive that recuperation so essential to 
our being. 

To induce sleep, the recumbent position is most 
favorable, as this facilitates the circulation of the 
vital fluids. The head should be but slightly 
elevated above the level of the shoulders. The 
eyes, in their natural and fixed position of sleep, 
are slightly inverted, or rolled upward. This 
position of the eyeballs, if not strained and artifi- 
cial, will aid in the induction of sleep. 

The great obstacle to sleep is a want of ability 
to suspend active thought. Various methods have 
been devised to effect this object, such as count- 
ing, etc.; but they only change the direction of 
the thought. 



IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP. 233 

It is evident that those who do the most brain- 
work require the most sleep, and yet they are the 
ones most likely to suffer from the want of it. 
They often become nervous and wakeful from con- 
tinued mental effort, necessitating a constant pres- 
sure of blood upon the brain, which keeps it in a 
stimulated and wakeful state until the pulsations 
in the head become absolutely painful, and the 
wear and waste of brain and nerve become exces- 
sive and prostrating. In this excited condition 
of the brain it is impossible to sleep. It is, there- 
fore, necessary to stop all excitement, and endeavor 
to induce a condition of repose. Failing to pro- 
duce this quiescent state, active means should be 
adopted to harmonize the system, by withdrawing 
the pressure from the brain, and equalizing the 
circulation. This may be accomplished by arising 
and chafing the body and extremities with a brush 
or towel, or rubbing smartly with the hands. 
When there is too much excitement of the brain 
to be overcome in this manner, a cold bath, a 
sponge bath with brisk rubbing, a rapid walk in 
the open air, or any active exercise, will aid in 
equalizing the circulation and promoting sleep. 
These rules are simple, and easy of application, 
and may minister to the comfort of thousands who 
would freely expend money for an anodyne to 
promote sleep. 



234 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

Health and long life are almost universally 
associated with early rising; and we are referred 
to the testimony of old people as evidence of its 
good effect upon the general system. But it 
should be remembered that early rising, to be 
beneficial, must have two concomitants, — not 
only must we retire early, but the brain must be 
free from excitement, and the system must be in 
a condition favorable to repose. 

One important advantage of retiring early is, 
that the intense stillness of midnight and the 
early morning hours favors that unbroken repose 
which is the all-powerful renovator of the tired 
system. Without, then, the accompaniment of 
retiring early, " early rising " is positively mis- 
chievous. Every person should be allowed to 
"have his sleep out;" otherwise the duties of the 
day cannot be properly performed, and will be 
necessarily slighted, even by the most conscien- 
tious. 

As sleep is the only provision in nature for 
resting the tired muscles, and rebuilding the ex- 
hausted brain and wasting nerves, going to bed is, 
therefore, one of the most important acts of our 
life, and should always be done well, and with a 
desire for sleep, for quiet repose, and for perfect 
rest of both body and mind. We must not go to 
bed with an overloaded stomach, nor in an anxious 



IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP. 235 

or troubled state of mind. The body should be 
warm, and the whole being should be in harmo- 
nious action. Attention to all these conditions 
should be followed by such devotional exercises as 
will bring all the feelings, emotions, and sentiments 
into accord with the divine will, subduing pas- 
sions, removing hatred, malice, jealousy, revenge, 
and opening the portals of heaven to all who seek 
rest, peace, and sweet repose. It is a happy custom 
with many to conclude the evening's proceedings 
by singing a sweet hymn, — " The day is past 
and gone," for instance, — which tends to bring 
all present into delightful union with each other, 
and with " Our Father which art in heaven." 

In infancy and early childhood, while the func- 
tions of nutrition are most active, and the waste 
of the system is small, nearly the whole time is 
passed in eating and sleeping, and building up or 
growing. During adult life about one-third of 
the twenty-four hours is passed in repose. In old 
age, when the nutritive operations are carried on 
with less vigor, more sleep is needed, so that the 
system may be spared as much as possible. 

Every man must sleep according to his tempera- 
ment. But eight hours is the average. If one 
requires a little more or a little less, he will find 
it out for himself. Whoever by work, pleasure, 
sorrow, or by any other cause, is regularly dimin- 



236 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

ishing his sleep, is destroying his life. A man 
may hold out for a time ; but nature keeps close 
accounts, and no man can dodge her settlements. 
We have seen impoverished railroads that could 
not keep the track in order, nor spare the engines 
to be thoroughly repaired. Every year track and 
equipment deteriorated. By and by comes a 
crash, and the road is a heap of confusion and 
destruction. So it is with men. They cannot 
spare the time to sleep enough. They slowly run 
behind. Symptoms of general waste appear. 
Premature wrinkles, weak eyes, depression of 
spirits, failure of digestion, feebleness in the 
morning, and overwhelming melancholy — these 
and other signs show a dilapidation. If, now, sud- 
den calamity causes an extraordinary pressure, 
they go down under it. They have no resources 
to draw upon. They have been living up to the 
verge of their whole vitality every day. 

It is a kind of dissipation for men to overwork 
their system every day and undersleep every 
night. Some men are dissipated by physical stim- 
ulants, and some by social, and some by profes- 
sional and commercial. But a man who works 
excessively all day, and sleeps but little at night, 
is guilty of a direct violation of one of the funda- 
mental laws of his being, and must sooner or later 
pay the penalty. 



IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP. 237 

What shall we do? This to many is a very 
important and serious question. The trouble is 
undoubtedly the result of a diseased condition. 
Sleepless people should court the sun. The very 
best soporific is sunshine. Therefore, it is very 
plain that poor sleepers should pass as many hours 
as possible in the sun. Many people are martyrs, 
and yet they do not know it. They shut the sun- 
shine out of their houses and their hearts ; they 
do all possible to keep off the subtlest and yet 
most potent influence which is intended to give 
them strength, beauty, and cheerfulness. 

Eat regularly, and not too much, and always 
secure a good digestion, that good material may 
be in readiness for repairs. Retire at an early 
hour, to give time for rest; sleep in a cool, airy 
room. No person can sleep well, or remain 
healthy, who breathes confined or bad air. Keep 
the skin clean and active. Always dress so as 
to keep the body comfortable and warm. Take 
proper exercise. Observe all the hygienic laws, 
and preserve a clear conscience. If this does not 
afford you sound, refreshing sleep, and a reason- 
able degree of health, you should consult a phy- 
sician who has not only a knowledge of disease 
and the human system, but a little practical com- 
mon sense, and he will see what is required to 
remove the disturbing cause. 



USE OF THE NOSTRILS. 



People should more fully understand that the 
nostrils were made to breathe through, and that 
their delicate and fibrous lining is necessary to 
remove dust and other foreign substances, to pu- 
rify and warm the air in its passage, and to stand 
guard over the lungs, especially during the hours 
of repose ; and that, by conforming in this respect 
to the designs of the Creator, many infectious 
fevers and other fatal diseases may be avoided, 
and pulmonary complaints lose much of their 
fatality. The atmosphere is nowhere pure enough 
for man's breathing until it has passed this myste- 
rious refining process ; and, therefore, the impru- 
dence and danger of admitting it in an unnatural 
way upon the lungs, and charged with the sur- 
rounding epidemic or contagious infections of the 
moment. Especially is this true during the hours 
of repose ; and he who sleeps with his mouth open 
not only has disturbed sleep, but lets the enemy 
in that dries up the saliva of the mouth, injures 
the teeth, diseases the throat and lungs, irritates 
238 



USE OF THE NOSTRILS. 239 

the nerves, and racks the brain. Such are the 
immediate results of this unnatural habit, and its 
continued and more remote effects are comsump- 
tion of the lungs, and death. 

Breathing of pure air has generally been con- 
ceded to be necessary to health; but the manner 
of breathing it has not received the attention its 
importance demands. Physicians have invented 
and recommended the use of respirators to pro- 
tect weak and diseased lungs, and they may have 
possessed some merit. But the nostrils were un- 
doubtedly made for breathing, and the delicate 
and fibrous lining for purifying the air in its pas- 
sage to the lungs ; and we believe the natural 
protection better than any artificial which ever 
was or can be invented. 

The air which enters the lungs is as different 
from that which enters the nostrils as distilled 
water is different from the water in an ordinary 
cistern. The arresting and purifying process of 
the nose upon the atmosphere, with its poisonous 
ingredients passing through it, though less percep- 
tible, is not less distinct nor less important than 
that of the mouth, which stops cherry-stones and 
fish-bones from entering the stomach. 

The impurities which are arrested by this intri- 
cate organization of the nose are thrown out again 
from its interior barriers by the returning breath. 



240 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

When the delicate tissue becomes inflamed, or has 
been partially broken down by catarrh, or by re- 
peated colds, so as to allow such impurities to 
pass, the extreme sensitiveness of the membrane 
beneath produces that muscular involition of 
sneezing, by which they are resisted and violently 
thrown back. 

When this structure has been destroyed by 
chronic catarrh, or other causes, the natural safe- 
guard to the lungs is gone, and the air is allowed 
to pass the nostrils without its proper purification ; 
and hence chronic catarrh is often followed by 
consumption of the lungs. This fact, though en- 
tirely overlooked by physicians generally, is of the 
the utmost importance in the treatment of diseases 
of the head, throat, and lungs. 

This intricate organization in the structure of 
man, unaccountable as it is, seems in a measure 
divested of mystery when we find the same phe- 
nomena in the physical conformation of the lower 
order of animals ; and we are again more aston- 
ished when we see the mysterious sensitiveness of 
that organ, instinctively and instantaneously sep- 
arating the gases, as well as arresting and reject- 
ing the material impurities of the atmosphere. 

It is a known fact that man can inhale through 
his nose, for a certain time, mephitic air, in the 
bottom of a well, without serious harm ; but if he 



USE OF THE NOSTRILS. 241 

opens his mouth to answer a question, or calls for 
help, thus inhaling the gases through the mouth, 
his lungs are closed, and he expires. Most ani- 
mals are able to inhale the same for a considerable 
time without destruction to life, and, no doubt, 
solely from the fact that their respiration is 
through the nostrils, in which the poisonous efflu- 
via are arrested. 

There are many mineral and vegetable poisons 
also which can be inhaled by the nose, apparently 
without serious harm, but if taken through the 
mouth destroy life. And so with poisonous rep- 
tiles and poisonous animals. The man who kills 
the rattlesnake or the copperhead, and stands 
alone over it, keeps his mouth shut, and receives 
no harm ; but if he has companions with him, with 
whom he is conversing over the carcasses of these 
reptiles, he inhales the poisonous effluvia through 
the mouth, and becomes deadly sick, and in some 
instances death ensues. 

Infinitesimal insects, not visible to the naked 
eye, are inhabiting every breath of air we breathe ; 
and minute particles of vegetable substances, as 
well as of poisonous minerals and silex, which 
float imperceptibly in the air, are, in diseased con- 
ditions of the nostrils, often discovered coating 
the respiratory organs of man ; and the class of 
birds which catch their food in the air, with open 



242 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

mouths as they fly, receive these things in quanti- 
ties, even in the hollow of their bones, where they 
are carried and lodged by the currents of air, and 
detected by microscopic investigation. 

Against the approach of these things to the 
lungs and to the eye, nature has guarded by the 
mucous and organic arrangements calculated to 
arrest their progress. Were it not for the liquid 
in the eye, arresting and neutralizing poisonous 
emanations, and carrying out the particles of dust 
communicated through the atmosphere, man w T ould 
soon become blind ; and but for the mucus in his 
nostrils, absorbing and carrying off the poisonous 
particles and effluvia for the protection of the 
lungs and the brain, mental derangement, con- 
sumption of the lungs, and death would sooner or 
later ensue. 

How easy and how reasonable it is to suppose, 
then, that the inhalation of such things into the 
lungs through the expanded mouth and throat 
may be one of the great causes of consumption 
and other fatal diseases attaching to the respira- 
tory organs ; and how fair a supposition, also, that 
the deaths from dreadful epidemics — such as 
cholera, yellow fever, and other pestilences — are 
caused by the inhalation of poisonous gases and 
diseased germs in the infected districts ; and that 
the victims of those diseases are those people who 



USE OF THE NOSTBILS. 243 

inhale the greatest quantities of those poisons into 
the lungs. 

In man's waking hours, when his limbs and 
muscles and mind are all in action, there may be 
but little harm in inhaling through the mouth, if 
he be an a healthy atmosphere ; and at moments 
of violent action and excitement it may be neces- 
sary. But when he lies down at night to rest 
from the fatigues of the day, and yields his system 
and all his energies to the repose of sleep, and his 
volition and all his powers of resistance are giving 
way to its quieting influence, if he opens his 
mouth, he lets the enemy in that tends to chill 
his lungs, to rack his brain, paralyze his stomach, 
and derange the whole system, and, during the 
following day, headache, toothache, rheumatism, 
dyspepsia, and the gout. 

. Such a man knows not the extent of the pleas- 
ure of sleep ; he rises in the morning fatigued, 
takes remedies perhaps through the day, and 
renews his disease at night. Destructive irrita- 
tion of the nervous system and inflammation of 
the lungs, with their consequences, are the imme- 
diate results of this unnatural habit. 

The lungs and the stomach are too near 
neighbors not to be mutually affected by abuses 
offered to the one or the other. They both have 
their natural food, and the natural and appro- 



244 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

priate means prepared by which it is to be 
received. 

The stomach performs its indispensable, but 
secondary part, whilst the motive power is in 
healthy action, and no longer. Man can exist 
several days without food, but only about as many 
minutes without the action of the lungs. Men 
habitually say " they don't sleep well, because 
something is wrong in their stomachs,'' when the 
truth may be, that their stomachs are wrong be- 
cause something is wrong in their sleep. 

If this dependent affinity in the human system 
be true, besetting man's life with so many dangers 
flowing from the abuse of his lungs, with the fact 
that the brute creations are exempt from all of 
these dangers, and the Indians in the wilderness 
nearly so, how important is the question which it 
raises, ■ — whether the frightful and unaccountable 
bills of mortality amongst the civilized races of 
mankind are not greatly augmented, if not chiefly 
caused, by this error of life, beginning in the 
cradle, and becoming by habit a second nature, 
to weary and torment mankind to their graves ? 

Man is created, we are told, to live threescore 
and ten years ; but how small a proportion of man- 
kind reach that age ! We learn from official 
reports, that in civilized communities one-half or 
more perish in infancy or childhood, and one-half 



USE OF THE NOSTRILS. 245 

of the remainder between that and the age of 
twenty-five ; and physicians tell us the diseases 
they died of, but who tells us of the causes of 
those diseases ? All effects have their causes, — 
disease is the cause of death, — but what is the 
cause of disease? This question and its answer 
are of infinitely more importance in the solution of 
the problem of health than simply curing disease. 

An Indian warrior sleeps and hunts and smiles 
with his mouth shut, and with seeming reluc- 
tance opens it even to eat or to speak. An Indian 
child is not allowed to sleep with its mouth open, 
from the very first sleep of its existence ; the 
consequence of which is, that, while the teeth are 
forming, they take their relative, natural positions, 
and form that healthful and pleasing regularity 
which has secured to the American Indians, as 
a race, perhaps the most beautiful mouths in the 
world. 

The Indian mother, instead of embracing her 
infant in her sleeping-hours in the heated exhala- 
tion of her body, places it at arm's length from 
her, and compels it to breath the fresh air, the 
coldness of which generally prompts it to shut the 
mouth ; in default of which, she presses the lips 
together, until she fixes the habit which is to last 
it through life ; and the contrast to this, which is 
too often practised by mothers in the civilized 



246 THOUGHTS FOE THE PEOPLE. 

world, in the mistaken belief that extra warmth 
is the essential thing for their darling babes, is 
no doubt the innocent foundation of the princi- 
pal, and as yet unexplained, cause of the deadly 
diseases so frightfully swelling the bills of mortal- 
ity in civilized communities. 

Under the less cruel, and apparently more tender 
and affectionate, treatment of many civilized moth- 
ers, their infants sleep in their arms in their heated 
exhalation, or in cradles in over-heated rooms, 
with their faces covered, without the allowance of 
a breath of vital air; where, as has been said, 
they from necessity gasp for breath until it be- 
comes a habit of their infancy and childhood to 
sleep with their mouths wide open, which their 
tender mothers overlook, or are not cruel enough 
to correct, little thinking that the habit is to result 
in the sad affliction which the croup, or other 
diseases of the throat and lungs, induced by this 
habit, may bring to their household. 

When we see the brute creation nearly exempted 
from premature death, and the Indian races com- 
paratively so, while civilized communities show 
such lamentable bills of mortality, it is but a 
rational deduction that such fatality is the result 
of habits not practised by Indians and the brute 
creation ; and what other characteristic differences 
in the habits of the three creations strike us as so 



USE OF THE NOSTRILS. 247 

distinctly different, and so proportioned to the 
results, as already shown, — the brute with the 
mouth always shut, the Indian with it shut dur- 
ing the night and most of the day, while many 
among the civilized races keep it open most of 
the day and all of the night? The first of these 
is nearly free from disease, the second compar- 
atively so, and the third shows the lamentable 
results in the bills of mortality. 

How forcible and natural is the deduction from 
these facts, that here may be the principal cause 
of such widely different results, strengthened by 
the other facts, that the greater part of the fatal 
diseases of the body, as well as diseases of the 
mind, before mentioned, are such as could and 
would flow from such an unnatural abuse of the 
lungs, the fountain and mainspring of life ! And 
how important, also, is the question raised by 
these facts, how far such an unnatural habit ex- 
poses the human race to the dangers from epidemic 
diseases ! 

Epidemic diseases are undoubtedly communi- 
cated through the medium of the atmosphere, in 
poisonous germs or infectious agents ; and what 
conclusion can be more rational than that he who 
sleeps with his mouth open during the night, 
drawing an increased quantity of infected atmos- 
phere directly on the lungs, will increase his 



248 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

chances of contracting the disease? And how 
interesting to science, and infinitely important to 
the welfare of the human race, might yet be the 
inquiry, whether the thousands and millions of 
victims to cholera and yellow fever were not 
those very portions of society who were in the 
habit of conversing freely during the day, and 
sleeping with their mouths open during the night, 
in the districts infected with those awful scourges ! 

If physicians and surgeons gain fame for occa- 
sionally conquering the enemy in combat, what 
laurels, and what new titles, should await the 
fair diplomatists who will keep the enemy out of 
the field, — the affectionate mothers, who sit by 
their sleeping infants, and watch and guard them 
through their childhood against the departure 
from one of nature's most wise and important 
regulations, designed for their health and happi- 
ness? 

If the greater portion of this species of evil has 
its origin in that early period of life, its correction 
comes directly under the mother's province; and 
there certainly can be no better guaranty for the 
benefit of coming generations than that mothers 
should be made fully sensible of the evil, and of 
their own power to avert it. And to mothers we 
would say, breathe pure air through the nostrils, 
and give to yourselves and your offspring the full 



USE OF THE NOSTRILS. 249 

benefit of the peaceful and invigorating repose 
which nature has prepared for all ; and in the 
care of the darling objects of your tenderest affec- 
tions, do not forget that God has prepared and 
designed them to breathe the fresh open air ; and 
remember that, when they sleep in your embrace 
in close, heated rooms and feather beds, with 
faces perhaps covered, forced to breathe, not only 
confined air, but exhalations from your own body, 
the consequences will be likely to break your 
hearts in after years. Rest assured that the great 
secret of life is the breathing principle, for which 
nature has rightly prepared material, and the 
proper mode of using it ; and at the incipient 
stage of life, where mothers are the physicians, is 
the easiest time to contract habits against nature, 
or to correct them. And there is woman's appro- 
priate sphere, where she takes to herself the 
sweetest pleasures of her existence, and draws 
the highest admiration of the world, while, like a 
guardian angel, she is watching over, and giving 
direction to, the destinies of man. 



STAMMERING. 



This affection, though not fatal, is often very 
troublesome. It is caused by a spasmodic action 
of the vocal organs. The treatment here recom- 
mended for the cure of this difficulty will be 
effectual in every case where there is no organic 
defect in the vocal organs ; and where it fails, 
we may be assured that it is in consequence of 
a want of proper attention on the part of the 
patient. 

The secret of cure consists in following two 
simple rules. First, the stammerer must never 
attempt to speak while he is inhaling his breath, 
or when it is nearly exhausted. Before attempt- 
ing to speak he should inflate the lungs, and be 
sure he has breath enough to speak distinctly the 
words or sentence he wishes to utter. This rule, 
if enforced, is in itself sufficient in most cases to 
remove the impediment. Where, this is not suffi- 
cient, it is only necessary to divide our conver- 
sation into measures, and keep time as we do in 
music. 

250 



STAMMERING. 251 

It will be observed that stammering persons 
never find any difficulty in singing. The reason 
of this is, that by observing the measure of the 
music, by keeping time, the organs of speech are 
kept in such position that enunciation is easy. 
Apply the same rule to reading or speech, and 
the same result will follow. Of course the first 
rule must be observed, always keeping the lungs 
well inflated to give a sufficient amount of air. 
Let the stammerer commence by reading simple 
compositions, like the Psalms of David, or a single 
sentence, " Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in 
Zion," keeping time with the fingers if necessary, 
letting each syllable or word occupy the same 
length of time, and he will not stammer. Let 
him pronounce slowly at first, then faster, but 
keeping time, and he will be surprised to find 
that, by a very little practice, he will read with- 
out stammering, and nearly as rapidly as persons 
ordinarily talk or read. Then practise this read- 
ing and conversation until the habit is broken up. 
Perseverance is all that is necessary to effect a 
perfect cure. 



USE OF THE BEARD. 



Physiologists generally agree in the fact that 
every portion of the body bears some sympathetic 
relation to the brain, or its function, the mind. 
This would argue that if a man wishes to preserve 
all his native vigor, both of mind and body, and 
be godlike in all his designs and aspirations, with 
a full capacity to appreciate and comprehend the 
universe of appreciable things, he must be " per- 
fect, entire, and wanting nothing." Wearing the 
beard was as common to the ancients as wearing 
the hair ; and if men were disfigured by being 
shorn, as a punishment, it was considered a dis- 
grace, and their effeminate appearance humiliated 
them, and kept them from society until the beard 
had grown again. 

A person who has never shaved has a soft, 
beautiful, flowing beard and mustache, which 
can be dressed to suit the taste or fastidiousness 
of the wearer. 

The beard on the face of man was designed to 
serve important ends. 

252 



USE OF THE BEARD. 253 

Like the hair of the head, it is hollow, and the 
bulbous root of every hair joined to a nerve of 
the face. Into the orifice of each hair constitut- 
ing the beard, the connected nerve discharges a 
portion of its own vital fluid, which retains its 
fluid state fully to the surface of the skin, and 
by its support keeps the beard soft and healthy. 
When the face is closely shaven, thousands of 
openings are made through which flow as many 
streams of nervous fluid. It is estimated that 
the man who shaves three times a week wastes 
thirty times the amount of vital fluid required 
to sustain an unshaven beard. This outflow con- 
tinues after each process of shaving till the fluid 
spreading forms a coating which causes the flow 
to cease. The waste thus made is a draft upon 
the entire nervous system, as much as the oozing 
of blood would be a drain upon the vitality of 
the body. 

Not only are the fountains of life thus invaded 
by the razor, but also the natural covering of the 
face is removed, subjecting the delicate termini 
of the facial nerves exposed to sudden transitions 
of temperature, often much to the detriment of 
the health. Let a person thus shaven go out 
in a cold day and he will experience a painful 
sensitiveness to the cold of the part so uncovered, 
while myriads of doors are open inviting disease 



25-4 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

to enter, and the nerves are so many telegraph- 
wires to bear the tidings through every part of 
the frame. 

" A well thatcht face is a comely grace, 
And a shelter from the cold." 

Is it marvellous that men should daily or tri- 
weekly renew the barbarous practice of shaving, 
even though there were no other injurious effects ? 

That the beard of the upper lip is of great 
service to the eyes we have most conclusive proof. 
Whoever has put a dull razor to the beard on 
that part of the face starts tears from the eyes, 
thus demonstrating the immediate nervous connec- 
tion between that part of the beard and the eyes. 
Also shaving the lower lip and chin has a ten- 
dency to develop and aggravate diseases of the 
throat and lungs, and other constitutional dis- 
turbances. A preacher of the gospel who had 
for years kept a clean-shaven face was troubled 
by partial loss of sight and a general prostration 
of health. He ceased shaving ; and in a few 
months his eyesight was restored, and he regained 
his usual health. We might refer to numerous 
instances where the eyesight and general health 
have been very much improved by ceasing to 
shave. 

Especially is it important for clergymen and 



USE OF THE BEARD. ZOO 

all public speakers to allow the beard to remain 
upon the chin and throat. I have known many 
public speakers who had nearly lost their voice 
from shaving to recover their power of speech by 
allowing the beard to grow upon the chin and 
throat. 

Moreover, the beard stands sentinel at the chief 
gateway to the lungs, to arrest dust and other 
injurious intruders from entering this sacred 
temple of life. 

A farmer who raised large quantities of clover- 
seed said he had found that no man who shaved 
could work consecutively more than two days at 
cleaning clover-seed on account of the dust collect- 
ing in his throat and lungs, while those with full 
beards could continue such work week after week. 
Persons working at needle-grinding, stone-cutting, 
or any dusty work, are protected by the mustache 
and beard from the large amount of irritating dust 
that was formerly inhaled by such laborers when 
they shaved ; and, according to recent statistics, 
the mortality, formerly so large among that class 
of artisans, has sensibly diminished since the 
wearing of the beard has become more general. 



OCCUPATION — EXERCISE. 



We should all choose occupations in harmony 
with our tastes, and physical, mental, and moral 
nature or capabilities, — such occupation as we 
can pursue with zeal, feeling that we are work- 
ing for the good of ourselves, of those with 
whom we associate, and of the world in which 
we live. 

A life-work having been chosen, we must be 
actively occupied. Idleness is dangerous ; and if 
it does not lead directly to vice or malevolence, it 
is likely to produce melancholy. 

Merchants, mechanics, farmers, and all steady 
laborers, have no leisure for imaginary wretched- 
ness. Then, steady occupation affords a guaranty 
from the curse of idleness and its dangers. 

If we have no necessary occupation, it becomes 
extremely difficult to make to ourselves occupa- 
tions as entirely absorbing as those which neces- 
sity imposes. The professions which we make 
for ourselves are seldom more than half profes- 
sions, and often leave the mind in a state of va- 

256 



OCCUPA TION — EXERCISE. 257 

cancy and inoccupation. We must rise to a due 
sense of its great importance ; and as the dis- 
pensing power is in our hands, we must be very 
jealous of remission and of idleness. 

In all our cities, there are people who do not 
seem to engage in any steady employment. Some 
of them at times are occupied perilously, as in 
gaming, others frivolously in lounging about 
hotels and public parks. Such people are always 
dissatisfied with themselves and with society, and 
are pretty sure to make everybody dissatisfied with 
them. They earn for themselves very little, and 
of course are not entitled to receive more than 
they earn. People without occupation are always 
unhappy ; and no one can make them otherwise till 
they change their mode of thought and manner of 
life, and engage in some useful employment. 

Let us all be occupied, in the highest employ- 
ment of which our natures are capable, and die 
with the consciousness that we have done our 
best. 

Steady workers seldom yield to fancied or real 
sorrow. When grief sits down, folds its hands, 
and mournfully feeds upon its own feelings, weav- 
ing the dim shadows, that a little exertion might 
sweep away, into a funeral pall, the strong spirit 
is shorn of its might, and sorrow becomes our 
master. When troubles flow upon us, dark and 



258 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 

heavy, and we cannot overcome them by direct 
effort, we should seek by occupation to divert the 
dark waters that threaten to overwhelm us, into 
a thousand channels, which the duties of life 
always present. Before we dream of it, those 
waters will fertilize the present, and give birth to 
fresh flowers, that will become pure and holy in 
the sunshine which penetrates to the path of duty 
in spite of every obstacle. 

EXERCISE. 

One of the great conditions of life and health 
is action ; therefore it is necessary for invalids, 
and ladies who have no steady occupation, to en- 
gage in some regular exercise ; and without it the 
health is impaired, the system becomes enfeebled, 
and life itself shortened. 

By proper exercise the chest is expanded, the 
tone of the muscles improved, the current of blood 
quickened, and the whole system invigorated and 
refreshed. But exercise, to be effective, must not 
be excessive ; must never be carried so far that 
the body feels fatigued, or the muscular powers 
exhausted, in which case more harm than benefit 
may be the result. 

It is of the most service, also, when taken at 
regular intervals. As we gain most from that 
which is pleasurable, that which agreeably occu- 



OCCUPA TION — EXEE CISE. 259 

pies the mind, — the cultivation of a garden, or 
any light work with a distinct end in view, — is 
always preferable and more conducive to health 
than long, solitary walks, which, because they are 
aimless, are often uninteresting and tiresome, and 
the body lacks the refreshing energy which the 
exercise should bring. It is absolutely necessary 
to keep harmony between mind and body, in order 
that exercise should impart the greatest benefit. 
The peculiar relations of the body and mind 
render it difficult to affect the body favorably in 
the cure of disease except through the mind. 
And to this fact may be attributed much of the 
ill-success of physicians who drug the body, and 
neglect the higher activities of the mind. Re- 
move the morbid condition of mind, and the 
bodily affliction disappears as if by magic. So 
exercise, to have its health-giving effect, must 
have the co-operation of the mind. Physicians 
frequently recommend long walks as exercise. 
When the hour for taking it comes, their patients 
rise listlessly, yawn, stretch themselves, and say, 
" Well, I suppose I must take my walk, and have 
it done with." Taking it as a medicine, instead 
of making it a pleasure, they return tired, out of 
humor, and with exhausted vitality. This is all 
wrong. Every exercise for invalids in which the 
mind does not co-operate with the body is worse 



260 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

than useless, as it tends to exhaustion rather than 
building up. 

In all such cases our first endeavor should be to 
get the body and mind in harmonious action ; and 
then, when physical exercise is required, the 
patients should be instructed to have some purpose 
in their walks, such as calling upon some friend, 
or viewing some object of interest, so that their 
minds shall be taken from the walk, and they will 
return refreshed and invigorated. 

We should always remember that the real man 
is mind or spirit, and the controlling element of 
the universe, and should so control the " house 
we live in " as to prevent physical disease and 
premature death. Physicians who depend upon 
drugs, and ignore the most important part of their 
profession, will do very little for the health of 
their patients or the sanitary condition of the 
people. 

Exercise may be active, such as walking, gar- 
dening, and the active sports ; or passive, as sail- 
ing or riding. For the young, healthy, and 
vigorous, we would recommend the former, while 
for those who have become invalids from disease, 
and whose powers are greatly depressed, the latter 
would be preferable. 

We cannot, in this work, expatiate upon the 
relative utility of the various manners of exercise; 



OCCUPA TION — EXEBCISE. 261 

suffice it to say, that any exercise which does not 
fatigue and debilitate the person may be of bene- 
fit in promoting the general health. 

Not only the body, but the mind, requires exer- 
cise. The brain, the great centre of life, requires 
the stimulus of vigorous thought. The same laws 
which govern other parts of the system are appli- 
cable here ; use strengthens, while without it the 
brain, and, indeed, the whole mental and moral 
character, becomes weakened ; and with that weak- 
ening, the integrity of the whole physical and 
moral constitution is impaired. It is a prevail- 
ing mistake that active study impairs health and 
shortens life; for it is only by close application, 
and a vigorous exercise of the powers of the mind, 
that a bright manhood or womanhood can be at- 
tained. Instead of debilitating, it strengthens ; 
instead of shortening life, it prolongs it, and opens 
the pathway to broader culture and a higher 
sphere of life. There are cases in which the 
young and ambitious strain their mental capacity 
and overwork the brain, thus bringing on disease 
and premature decay. But the cases are rare ; and 
when they occur, it is not the exercise, but its 
abuse, that causes the injury. 



POSTURE. 



An erect bodily attitude is of vastly more im- 
portance to health than is generally imagined. 
Crooked bodily positions, maintained for any 
length of time, are always injurious, whether sit- 
ting, standing, or lying, whether sleeping or wak- 
ing. 

To sit with the body leaning forward on the 
lungs and stomach, or to one side, with the heels 
elevated to a level with the head, is not only in 
bad taste, but exceedingly detrimental to health. 
It cramps the stomach, presses the vital organs, 
interrupts the free motions of the chest, and en- 
feebles the functions of the abdominal and thoric 
organs, and, in fact, unbalances the whole nervous 
and muscular system. 

Many children become slightly humpbacked 
or round-shouldered by sleeping with the head 
raised on a high pillow. When any person finds 
it easier to sit, stand, or sleep in a crooked posi- 
tion than a straight one, he may be sure his mus- 
cular system is badly deranged, and the more 

262 



POSTURE. 263 

careful he is to preserve a straight or an upright 
position, and get back to Nature again, the 
better. 

Those persons engaged in occupations requiring 
the hands alone to move, while the lower limbs 
remain motionless, should bear in mind that with- 
out frequently raising the frame to an erect posi- 
tion, and giving exercise to all parts of the body, 
such a practice will tend to destroy their health. 
They should also sit in as erect a position as possi- 
ble. With seamstresses, there is always more or 
less stooping of the head and shoulders, tending to 
retard circulation, respiration, and digestion, and 
produce curvature of the spine. The head should 
be thrown back to give the lungs full play. Health 
cannot be maintained without free respiration. 
Strength and general health must come from exer- 
cise. Confined attitudes are in violation of cor- 
rect theories of healthy physical developments and 
the instincts of nature. Those accustomed to sit 
writing for hours, day after day, can form some 
idea of the exhausting nature of the toilsome 
and poorly paid labor of the seamstress. 

Parents and guardians should see to it that 
those under their care maintain an erect posture, 
and keep the system in harmony with the laws of 
life, especially during the period of growth. And 
persons who from necessity are obliged to remain 



264 THOUGHTS FOB THE PEOPLE 

for a time in, unnatural or cramped positions 
should overcome the evil as far as possible, by 
proper exercise in the open air, and other means 
of maintaining the strength, vigor, harmony, and 
beauty of their physical constitutions. 



THE BENEFIT OF LAUGHING. 



There is not the remotest corner or inlet 
of the minute blood-vessels of the human body 
that does not feel some wavelet from the convul- 
sion occasioned by good, hearty laughter. The 
life-principle, or the central man, is shaken to its 
innermost depths, sending new tides of life and 
strength to the surface, and thus materially tend- 
ing to insure good health to the persons who 
indulge therein. The blood moves more rapidly, 
and conveys a different impression to all the or- 
gans of the body, as it visits them on that partic- 
ular mystic journey when the man is laughing, or 
joyous from what it does at other times. For this 
reason every good, hearty laugh in which a person 
indulges tends to lengthen his life, conveying, as 
it does, new and distinct stimulus to the vital 
forces. To accomplish this object it is not neces- 
sary to make an explosion that will be an offence 
to those about us. Doubtless the time will come 
when physicians, conceding more importance than 
they do now to the influence of the mind upon 
265 



266 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE 

the vital forces of the body, will make their pre- 
scriptions more with reference to the mind, and 
less with drugs for the body, and will, in so 
doing, find the best and most effective method of 
producing the required effect upon the patient. 
Our advice to all is, indulge in good, hearty, soul- 
ful laughter when the opportunity offers, and you 
will derive material benefit therefrom. 

A merry heart, a cheerful spirit, from which 
laughter wells up as naturally as bubbles the 
springs of Saratoga, are worth all the money-bags, 
stocks, and mortgages of Wall Street. The man 
who laughs is a doctor, with a diploma indorsed 
by the school of nature ; his face does more good 
in a sick-room than a pound of powders or a gal- 
lon of bitter draughts. A true philosopher says, if 
things go right, he laughs because he is pleased ; 
if they go wrong, he laughs because it is cheaper 
and better than crying. People are always glad 
to see a cheerful man ; their hands instinctively go 
out to meet his grasp, while they turn involun- 
tarily from the clammy touch of the dyspeptic, 
who speaks on the groaning key. He laughs you 
out of your faults, while you never dream of 
being offended with him ; it seems as if sunshine 
came into the room with him, and you never 
know what a pleasant world you are living in 
until he points out the sunny streaks on its path- 



THE BENEFIT OF LAUGHING. 267 

way. A good-humored laugh is the key to all 
hearts. "Satire," says a keen observer, "is the 
most useful of all forms of writing ; sentiment 
is literally wasted on nineteen readers out of 
twenty ! " The truth is, that people like to be 
laughed at in a genial sort of way. If you are 
making yourself ridiculous, you want to be told 
of it in a pleasant manner, not sneered at. And 
it is astonishing how frankly the laughing popula- 
tion can talk, without treading on the sensitive 
toes of their neighbors ! Why will people put on 
long faces, when it is so much easier and more 
comfortable to laugh? Tears come to us un- 
sought and unbidden. The wisest art in life is 
to cultivate smiles ; to find the flowers where 
others shrink away for fear of thorns. 

A good man is almost always a cheerful one. 
It is fit that a bad man should scowl and look 
melancholy ; but he who has God's smile of appro- 
bation upon him should show its radiance in his 
countenance. Dr. Johnson said he "never knew 
a villain in his life that was not, on the whole, an 
unhappy dog." And well he may be. But an 
honest man, — the man with a good conscience, 
— let him enjoy his sleep, and his dinner, and 
the love of his wife, and the prattle of his chil- 
dren, and show a beaming face to his neighbor. 
Surely it is not the best theology that teaches that 



268 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

He who has given such fulness of joy to beasts 
and birds, delights in the misery of men, or that, 
having filled our hearts with gladness, we ought 
to give the lie to his goodness by wearing faces 
beclouded with woe, and furrowed with unhappi- 
ness. 

If we cannot do this, we may be sure that the 
fault is with ourselves ; and we should immedi- 
ately put ourselves in harmony with our Creator 
by changing our thoughts and mode of life, and 
be governed by the spirit of him who has given us 
this beautiful world in which to school ourselves 
for the better world to come. 

CRYING. 

Laughing is better than crying in a general 
way ; but there are times of sadness and sorrow 
when it is more natural to give vent to the feel- 
ings by crying rather than laughing. 

A French physician has written a long disser- 
tation on the advantages of groaning and crying 
in general, and especially during surgical opera- 
tions. He contends that groaning and crying are 
the two grand operations by which nature allays 
anguish ; that those patients who give way to 
their natural feelings more speedily recover from 
accidents and operations than those who suppose 
it unworthy a man to betray such symptoms of 



CRYING. 269 

cowardice as either to groan or cry. If people 
are at all unhappy about anything, let them go 
into their rooms and comfort themselves with a 
hearty cry, and they will feel a hundred per cent 
better afterwards. 

We should keep our children in a happy state 
of mind as far as we can. A happy childhood is 
very desirable. It not only gives a good impres- 
sion of home life, but its remembrance in after 
life is valuable. But there may be times when the 
crying of children should not be too greatly dis- 
couraged. If in times of great grief it is system- 
atically repressed, the result may be St. Vitus's 
dance, epileptic fits, or some other disease of the 
nervous system. What is natural is nearly always 
useful ; and nothing can be more natural than the 
crying of children, when anything occurs to give 
them either physical or mental pain. 

Probably most persons have experienced the 
effect of tears in relieving great sorrow. It is 
even curious how the feelings are allayed by their 
free indulgence in groans and sighs. Then let 
parents and friends show more indulgence to noisy 
bursts of grief, on the part of children as well as 
of older persons, and regard the eyes and the 
mouth as the safety valves through which nature 
discharges her surplus steam. 



MUSIC. 

"Music hath charms to soothe a savage." 



Music is one of the most precious gifts of God 
to man. It not only arouses the circulation of the 
blood, wakes up the energies, and diffuses life and 
animation into every function of the body, but it 
allays the most violent passion, calms the disturbed 
condition of the mind, and lifts the soul to a 
higher plane of life. 

The power of the human voice in service of 
song is truly wonderful ; and when united in har- 
mony with the " music of the spheres " is one of 
the most effectual means of expressing the brother- 
hood of man, and bringing the human mind, politi- 
cally, socially, and religiously, into concord with 
the " universe of God." 

Accidents may cause discord in our musical in- 
struments. A sense of fear or other causes may 
disturb the harmony of our thoughts, and produce 
in us a negative condition, and for a time seem to 
fill our bodies with disease and our minds with 
despondency and doubt. 

270 



MUSIC. 271 

Nothing can be better adapted to dispel such 
conditions of the human system than inspiring 
music, — the use of musical instruments in con- 
nection with the human voice. 

But for people who are really sick we should 
omit such music as appeals to the muscles, and 
tends to lift the foot instead of the affections of 
the soul, and select such music as will soothe as 
well as cheer; music that appeals directly to our 
spiritual nature ; music that tends to lift the soul 
above the pain and sorrows of earth into the 
realms of peace and joy. 

The human voice affords the best music. But 
if musical instruments are used, we should select 
reed instruments, like the organ, melodeon, or 
accordion. Stringed instruments, like the piano 
or violin, are exciting, and tend to make the sick 
tired, restless, and nervous. 

Song is the harmonious outburst of our spiritual 
nature, and increases both our mental and physi- 
cal activity, and therefore conduces to health and 
happiness. People who have no ear for music, 
and those who have not been taught to sing the 
songs of Zion, have lost one of the sweetest parts 
of our religious worship. Music was a subject of 
practice and study in the days of David, the sweet 
singer of Israel. Many instruments have been in- 
vented which increase the power of music ; but 



272 THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOLPE. 

the most refreshing and soul-inspiring comes from 
the human voice. Gladness, gratitude, music, and 
joy should daily make every habitation vocal with 
the concord of sweet sounds. Music has a direct 
tendency to open the heart, wake up the affections, 
and elevate our natures. It was the harp in the 
hands of the son of Jesse which exorcised the evil 
spirits from royalty, and its harmonious strains 
are still most effectual to dispel the evil spirit of 
discontent. 

Music is one of the fairest and most glorious 
gifts of God, for it removes from the heart the 
weight of sorrow and the fascination of evil 
thoughts ; and the soul that can rejoice and sing 
with a hearty zest does not harbor " treason, 
stratagems, and spoils." 

Cultivate music, then ; put no restraint upon 
your joyous nature ; let the mind grow and ex- 
pand ; and forever stamp the countenance with 
the sunshine of gladness, and the heart with the 
impress of a diviner nature, by feeding the soul 
in that " concord of sweet sounds " which prevails 
in the habitations of angels. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Dec. 2004 

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